Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a third consecutive term after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Modi will be the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to come to power in India for three straight terms.
Modi, however, failed to equal Nehru in another aspect of elections. Nehru had won an outright majority in his third election held in 1962. Modi's BJP won 240 seats, 32 short of the majority mark of 272 seats, in the general election 2024, the result of which was announced on Wednesday, June 4.
Since the BJP has stopped short of the magic number, PM Modi will be leading a minority government with the support of its allies that takes the NDA tally to 293 seats.
Nehru's Record
Jawaharlal Nehru served as prime minister of India for a period of 16 years and 286 days from 1947 until 1964. Nehru was elected prime minister after the Congress party won the first general elections in 1951-52 and then in 1957 and 1962.
In 1962, general elections were held in India between February 19 and 25 to elect members of the third Lok Sabha. In its third election, the Nehru-led Congress won a landslide victory, bagging 44.7 per cent of the votes and 361 of the 494 elected seats. In 1962, as many as 248 seats were needed for a majority.
Nehru, however, passed away in the middle of his third term in May 1964.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 were held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1. The results were announced on June 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA had set a target of 400 seats but ended up with just 293 seats.
The INDIA bloc, an amalgamation of opposition parties that challenged the Modi-led alliance, finished with 232 seats, reducing the NDA numbers from 2019 when it bagged 353 seats in the Lok Sabha.
