India held general elections from April 19 to June 1 to elect 543 representatives to its Lok Sabha (House of the People). Voters can cast one ballot through universal adult suffrage for one seat they want in this legislative body.
The BJP-led NDA has taken control of most seats in Lok Sabha Elections In India 2024. Their election manifesto promised job creation, top-quality educational institutes and more sustainable cities.
| Match/Event (Election Update) | Key Detail | BJP/NDA | INDIA Alliance | Others | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Results Declared (June 2024) | 543 seats counted in Lok Sabha | 293 seats | 234 seats | 16 seats | NDA forms government |
| BJP Performance | Single largest party result | 240 seats | — | — | BJP leads NDA |
| Majority Threshold | 272 seats needed | 293 crossed | Below majority | — | NDA secures majority |
| Government Formation | Coalition support for PM | NDA + allies | Opposition alliance | Independents included | Narendra Modi sworn in |
| Election Phase Voting | 7-phase voting (Apr–Jun 2024) | Strong across phases | Competitive in multiple phases | Regional wins | Highest voter participation globally |
The BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a Hindu nationalist political party founded in India by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya to foster cultural nationalism.
Upadhyaya envisioned a “unified India,” in which all Indians regardless of their religion, caste or region would be equal before law. After winning majority seats at their inaugural Lok Sabha election in 2014 they formed the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), established by K B Hedgewar in 1925 and further strengthened after 1940 by M S Golwalkar, provides support for the BJP.
RSS adheres to its founding concept that Hinduism should serve as the cornerstone of India, thus encouraging all Indians to support its government to protect its interests – this appeal can be demonstrated by supporting laws favorable to Hindus like banning animal slaughter and passing citizenship laws that critics allege discriminate against Muslims.
Earlier today, the BJP unveiled its candidates list for the 2024 general elections, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi running in Varanasi as his home constituency and key members of his administration such as Amit Shah in Gandhinagar and Rajnath Singh in Lucknow.
Smriti Irani, women’s affairs chief for BJP is also running in Amethi. TMC leader Mamata Banerjee decided not to run due to health reasons and will be replaced by Mahua Moitra who has been critical of nationalist policies of both major parties; she will also criticised by them due to her support for controversial Hindu nationalism as well as her refusal to work with coalition partners.
The NDA
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is an Indian political party with right-leaning tendencies that advocates Hindu nationalism. Founded in 1925 as part of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s sangh parivar umbrella organization, it currently boasts more than 140 million members and is one of the world’s largest parties.
Currently, the BJP holds power in 20 of 28 states and Union territories that feature legislative assemblies, with 16 state governments directly under its control.
Furthermore, its allies hold majority seats in Lok Sabha as part of their National Democratic Alliance coalition; with BJP leader Narendra Modi serving as prime minister as head of this alliance.
However, the BJP’s performance in 2019 election fell below its expected standards as its total of 303 seats was considerably less than 353 from 2014 and 293 for UPA combined.
This can be partially explained by regional and caste parties joining together with Congress in creating Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh; Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) party in Bihar and Chandra Prakash Chaudhary’s AJSU party in Andhra Pradesh have also had an effect.
With this election, the BJP hopes to surpass its performance from 2019 and win around 400 seats with allies combined. Their success depends heavily on maintaining support from their allies; should the DMK and AJSU break away from NDA support in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively, their performance may become severely limited.
The Congress
More than 968 million voters cast ballots in India’s general elections held June 4 for election to India’s lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha or House of the People).
Though falling short of winning enough seats to form a majority government, ruling party BJP gained enough support with 240 wins to continue ruling India.
BJP was pitted against Congress and its alliance partners: Indian National Congress (INC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Uddhav Thackeray from Shiv Sena – led by former Maharashtra chief minister and son of party founder Bal Thackeray Uddhav Thackeray and led by former Maharashtra chief minister Bal Thackeray (DMK). All parties involved aimed to prevent BJP from forming another consecutive government; this INDIA alliance sought to stop this happening again.
Every constituency elects one member of the Lok Sabha using first-past-the-post voting: voters cast one ballot for their preferred candidate; the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is declared winner.
Eligible voters must be Indian citizens 18 or over who live within their constituency and registered to vote, possess a voter identification card from Election Commission of India or equivalent document and be free from electoral offences.
The INC’s election manifesto emphasizes social justice and equality for women; protecting India’s Constitution and Federal System; assuring its economic health; as well as fighting corruption, encouraging foreign investment and job creation, reforming taxation systems and increasing farmer and worker security. Historically speaking, India’s Lok Sabha House holds more power due to financial oversight from Council of Ministers reports going through it.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
A majority in India’s lower house of parliament, known as Lok Sabha, requires winning 272 out of 543 seats. While in 2024 the ruling BJP did not manage this feat, they still secured enough votes to form their government under PM Modi for his third consecutive term as prime minister.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also known as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant religious social service group with multiple affiliate organizations, was established in 1980 as its political arm. The BJP promotes Hindu nationalism (“Hindutva”), right-leaning views on social policy issues and promotes self-sufficiency sentiments among its supporters.
This right-wing Hindu fascist party has also been described as the world’s largest political party, boasting over 140 million members worldwide.
They are divided into parliamentary constituencies with one representative elected for each of India’s territorial units using universal adult suffrage; additionally, some seats have been set aside to protect disadvantaged groups such as Scheduled Castes/Tribes as well as women within this system.
INDIA, an opposition alliance formed late 2023 to take on Modi in May elections, is facing an uphill struggle against him winning another three-term. So far 26 parties are part of INDIA but more could join up before polls.
Their leaders hope the INDIA bloc can form government at both the center and state elections against BJP; voters must believe they offer better governance than what their ally offers – the key challenge facing INDIA will be creating an attractive policy narrative and vision to attract them all together.
The Independents
Indian elections have traditionally been won by major political parties; however, in 2024 elections something different happened as independent candidates won seats across multiple states. Independents may not technically belong to any parliamentary party but often run on single issue campaigns or join ticket-based coalitions; India’s voting system even permits election of some independents into its upper house, the Rajya Sabha.
In 2024 elections were conducted in seven phases between April 19 and June 1. Over 968 million voters participated, with an unprecedented number of women casting votes.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won an overwhelming victory despite falling short of 272 seats needed for majority rule; as it could not form its government alone it formed the National Democratic Alliance with Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
As well as electing representatives to the Lok Sabha, elections also take place for seats in Rajya Sabha (“Council of States”) and state legislatures. Of these three bodies of parliament, Lok Sabha holds more seats and exerts greater financial control on government; additionally, this house of parliament serves as the venue where motions of no confidence are debated.
Presidents usually request the party or coalition that wins the most seats to form a government, with its leader serving as Prime Minister and heading up the Council of Ministers. If no absolute majority exists for any one group or coalition, an independent may be appointed by him or her instead; every five years or earlier depending on circumstances. The Lok Sabha must also be dissolved.
