Election Results 2024: KL Sharma to Yusuf Pathan, meet the giant slayers of the Lok Sabha Election

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a five-term Congress veteran, appears to be losing to political novice Yusuf Pathan in Baharampur, in an unexpected turn of events. For a while, Chowdhury had a firm hold on this seat, inspite of Mamata Banerjee's strong influence in the area. If Pathan wins, which he is expected to do, it will be a significant victory for the TMC as the seat has been a safe bastion of Chowdhury for decades.

Santosh Pandey of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently represents Rajnandgaon, a significant Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh. With nearly 6 lakh votes, Pandey has a sizable lead over Congress candidate and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Rajnandgaon has been a BJP stronghold for more than three decades.

Defeated Omar Abdullah of National Conference. Abdullah conceded defeat to independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, on Tuesday, June 4. According to latest data from the Election Commission, Abdullah was trailing with 1,68,213 votes, while Rashid had 3,12,588. Engineer Rashid is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail in relation to a case involving the funding of terrorism. Twenty-two candidates were running from Baramulla, including Rashid, the leader of the Awami Ittehad Party and a former MLA.

The most recent information from Sultanpur indicates that Maneka Gandhi, who is presently in second place, faces a difficult situation. As the vote tallying process in Sultanpur moves forward, SP candidate Rambhual Nishad is leading with over 43,000 more votes than Maneka Gandhi.

Mian Altaf Ahmed, a spiritual leader who is loved by the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities in Jammu and Kashmir, has established a sizable lead in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti conceded defeat against Ahmad, a key figure in the National Conference (NC).

With lakhs and corores of people voting in the elections, the counting process is also elaborate. Thousands of officers participate in the counting of votes across different parts of India. However, the EC makes sure everything concludes smoothly. Vote counting is decentralised and done simultaneously at counting stations in each of the 543 constituencies around the country.

The Returning Officer (RO) for a Parliamentary Constituency is in charge of overseeing the election process and counting the votes. Based on the total number of votes, the RO designates the location and assigns counting centres. The ECI appoints the RO, who is typically a local government official or officer, after consulting with the State Government. Each constituency's Assistant Returning Officers (ARO) assist the RO. The ARO is in charge of EVM counting at one table, while the RO counts postal ballots at another. Agents in charge of counting oversee the process. Each table must have a micro-observer, a counting assistant, and a counting supervisor according to the ECI.

In each constituency, there is one designated location for the counting process. More counting centres can be allocated in case there are a huge number of voters. Government schools, colleges, or the headquarters of the RO of that particular constituency are among the common places where counting is done. Counting begins at 8 am, while results are announced for each constituency as soon as counting is completed. Result trends generally become clear by the afternoon of counting day and are flashed on television news networks. The official count from the ECI can come hours later.

The votes are counted in a big hall with 14 tables. The ARO is in charge of EVM counting at one table, while the RO counts postal ballots at another. The counting happens in rounds, which are referred to as leads in news channels. EVM count starts 30 minutes after the commencement of postal ballot count.

After the ECI announces the results for all 543 seats, the president invites the leader of the party, or an alliance, which has more than half the seats to form the government. The party or coalition with 272 or more seats then chooses a prime minister to lead the government. Most exit polls on Saturday projected the NDA could win a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament.