Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In 2019, Congress won just 8 of 57 seats voting in phase 7 polling today, BJP bagged 25

Voters are casting ballots today to decide the fate of 904 candidates, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, across 57 seats in eight states and Union Territories in the last and final phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. 

In the seventh phase, all seats in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, along with the remaining seats in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chandigarh, and West Bengal, are voting braving soaring temperatures.

Follow all Live Updates on Phase 7 Voting Here

Apart from PM Modi, the other candidates in the fray today include BJP leaders Kangana Ranaut, Ravi Kishan and Anurag Thakur, Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, RJD leader Misa Bharti, and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.

Elections are also being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha along with Lok Sabha polls. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Voters' guide to Phase 7 — check vote timings, polling stations, candidates

Until phase six of Lok Sabha elections 2024, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 278 seats in the 2019 elections – six seats above the majority mark of 272, according to political analysts Amitabh Tiwari.

Congress won 8 seats in 2019

Of the 57 seats, the BJP won 25 in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The Congress won eight seats in 2019 elections of the 57 Lok Sabha seats voting today.  In 2014, the Congress had won just three of these seats.

The BJP polled more than 40 per cent vote share in at least 28 of these 57 seats, while the Congress got a vote share of less than 10 per cent in at least 18 seats, according to a report in India Today.

Overall, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 30 of the 57 seats in 2019. The INDIA bloc parties had won 19 seats while others won 8 seats in 2019.  

In 2014 general elections, the NDA  had won 29 of the 57 seats voting today and the INDIA bloc parties had bagged 18 seats. Ten seats went to other parties.

Also Read: 'Unequivocal confirmation...': BJP reacts to Congress not participating in Lok Sabha exit poll debates

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is also a player in this phase. The party has at least eight strongholds, the same as the BJP in 2019. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Congress, the Janata Dal (United), and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) shared the remaining eight strongholds in 2019.

The BJP-led NDA seeks a record third term under PM Modi. The opposition parties led by Congress challenged the ruling alliance under the banner of the INDIA bloc.