Election Results 2024 updates: Highlights on June 8, 2024

BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar on Saturday took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, citing his frequent foreign visits, and expressed doubts about his ability to work as the leader of the opposition effectively.

His statement comes after reports claimed that Congress will make Rahul Gandhi the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“Even before this, Rahul Gandhi has been seen going to Italy or some other country from time to time, so if the opposition leader goes away like this from time to time, then he will not be able to work as the leader of the opposition,” he told ANI.

The Congress Working Committee passed the resolution that party MP Rahul Gandhi should be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, sources said on Saturday.

- ANI

Congress Parliamentary Party president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday described the Lok Sabha election results as “political and moral defeat” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he has lost the moral right to leadership.

Addressing the newly elected MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament, she said far from taking responsibility for the failure, the prime minister intends to get himself sworn in again on Sunday.

“We do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognisance of the will of the people,” Sonia Gandhi said.

She said the prime minister had sought the mandate solely in his name to the exclusion of both his party and its allies, but has suffered a political and moral defeat.

“In reality, he has lost the mandate he sought and thereby has lost the right to leadership as well. Yet, far from taking the responsibility for failure he intends to get himself sworn in again tomorrow. We do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognisance of the will of the people,” she said.

-PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that her party would adopt a “wait and watch” approach on the political situation at the Centre and asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc may not have staked claim to form the government today, but that does not mean it will not do it tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of TMC MPs and senior leaders, Banerjee said she would be pleased if the “weak and unstable” NDA government was removed from power.

“The BJP is forming the government undemocratically and illegally. Today, the INDIA bloc may not have staked a claim to form the government, but that doesn’t mean they won’t tomorrow. Let’s wait for some time,” she said.

Ultimately, the INDIA bloc will form the government in the coming days, the Trinamool Congress supremo asserted.

-PTI

Many wrote our obituaries, but under the determined leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge we persevered, Sonia Gandhi said. 

Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra were really historic movements which rejuvenated our party at all levels, she added. 

Speaking at the CPP meeting where she was elected as the chairperson, Sonia Gandhi said that Rahul deserves special thanks for his tenacity, determination to fight unprecedented personal, political attacks.

Congress’ numbers in Parliament have increased significantly. We are also bolstered by strength of INDIA partners, she said. 

Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ will leave for New Delhi on Sunday to attend the swearing–in ceremony of Narendra Modi, who is assuming the post of Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive term.

Modi’s swearing-in ceremony would take place on Sunday evening.

“Prime Minister Prachanda is paying an official visit to India starting from Sunday at the cordial invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the swearing-in ceremony to be held on June 9 in New Delhi,” read a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The Prime Minister will be accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, and high-ranking officials of the Government of Nepal,” the statement said.

Prachanda will return on June 10, it added.

-ANI

Sonia Gandhi has been elected as the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP). Her name was proposed by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and seconded by Gaurav Gogoi, Tariq Anwar and K Sudhakaran.

The Shiv Sena on Saturday claimed two newly elected Lok Sabha members from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) were in touch with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Hitting back, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir said the claim is being made out of fear and desperation as Shiv Sena lawmakers are now apprehensive over who will be their alliance face when they contest polls in the state, which will be held in the second half of the year.

Addressing a press conference here, Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske refused to name the two Lok Sabha members citing the anti-defection law, but said that four more lawmakers would soon join the two and cross over to the Shinde-led party.

“The two Lok Sabha members were unhappy with the manner in which Uddhav Thackeray sought votes from a particular community, who came in busloads,” Mhaske, the newly elected Lok Sabha member from Thane, said.

Mhaske said while two Lok Sabha members from Thackeray camp were in touch, four more would join them and support Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.

-PTI

Lauding the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress Working Committee on Saturday said the result was not just a political loss but a personal and moral defeat of the prime minister who sought a mandate in his name.

People decisively rejected the type of governance witnessed over the past decade, it said.

Two resolutions were adopted at the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, with one unanimously requesting Rahul Gandhi to accept the position of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

In the second resolution adopted at the meeting during which the top leadership assessed the Lok Sabha polls outcome, the CWC said the verdict was clearly against the undermining of democracy and democratic institutions since 2014.

The Congress’ top decision-making body also said it took note of the party’s disappointing performance in some states and called for urgent steps to address the shortcomings.

-PTI

The Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting begins in the Central Hall of Parliament in the national capital on Saturday.

Several prominent Congress leaders including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary KC Venugopal are present in the meeting.

Several other leaders including Karti Chidambaram, Rajiv Shukla, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Shashi Tharoor are also present Congress Parliamentary Party meeting.

- ANI

“If INDIA alliance has not staked claim to form government today it doesn’t mean it will not do so in future. I will be happy the earlier this earlier this unstable government (NDA government) goes,” says West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after meeting newly elected MPs.

“We are waiting and watching. The country needs change,” she added. The TMC chairperson nominated Sudip Banerjee as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha and Kalyan Banerjee as the Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha.

“We cannot congratulate this new government as people voted against it,” she added.

Condemning the attack on Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi said that he is “deeply concerned” by the news of the attack. He wished good health to Frederiksen.

In a post on X, PM-designate Narendra Modi stated, “Deeply concerned by the news of the attack on Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s Prime Minister. We condemn the attack. Wishing good health to my friend.”

PM Modi’s statement comes after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was assaulted by a man in Copenhagen, according to a statement from her office to CNN.

“Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man Friday evening on Kultorvet [public square] in Copenhagen. The man was subsequently arrested,” the prime minister’s office said.

-ANI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has recommended action against Odisha’s IPS officer Ashish Kumar Singh for “misrepresentation of fact” about his health condition while revoking the suspension order on another senior police officer D S Kutey.

In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, the ECI said the report of the special medical board of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, has declared Singh, a 2010 batch IPS officer, physically and mentally fit.

He has been on leave on health ground since May 4.

While Kutey, the special secretary to Odisha Chief Minister, was suspended by the ECI on May 28 for “unduly interfering in conduct of election,” the Commission had ordered a medical examination of Singh by a special medical board of the AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

“The commission, prima facie, found it is a case of misrepresentation of fact on part of Sri Asish Kumar Singh, IPS, it is directed that the report of the Special Medical Board, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, be forwarded to chief secretary, Government of Odisha, for appropriate necessary action against the officer as deemed fit,” the ECI’s letter to the CEO, Odisha said.

The ECI said Kutey’s suspension should be revoked with immediate effect with the condition that the other directions given in its May 28 letter will continue.

-PTI

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren and senior JMM leaders met former CM Hemant Soren at Birsa Munda Central Jail here on Saturday.

Party sources said the JMM leaders including Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana discussed the Lok Sabha election results as well as the party’s strategy in view of the Assembly polls which are due later this year.

This is the first meeting of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders with the former CM after the Lok Sabha elections, a JMM leader said.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won eight seats and its ally AJSU Party one, while JMM emerged victorious in three constituencies and the Congress in one.

-PTI

Eighteen of the 20 candidates who won the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala are ‘crorepatis’. They have total assets worth over ₹1 crore.

The top three wealthiest candidate are Shashi Tharoor of the Congress who won the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad), and Suresh Gopi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was elected from Thrissur. Their total assets are about ₹56.06 crore, ₹20.39 crore, and ₹18.58 crore respectively.

Adoor Prakash of the Congress, who won the Attingal constituency, is close behind with total assets worth ₹18.09 crore, according to an analysis by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that negative politics has ended and the people’s issues and concerns have triumphed.

Speaking to the reporters at the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said, “On one hand, there has been the victory of the INDIA alliance and the strategy of the PDA, Samajwadi Party has emerged as the third largest party (in the election). The party has got the support of the people in a big way.” “At the same time, the responsibility of the ‘Samajwadi’ has also increased, be it raising the issues pertaining to the public, keeping the interest of the public in mind, while putting up our views. The SP’s endeavour in the Lok Sabha will be to serve the people at the maximum,” he said.

“Negative politics have come to an end, while positive politics have begun, and issues pertaining to the people have triumphed,” he said.

- PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting of senior TMC leaders and newly elected LS MPs on Saturday to decide the party’s strategy in the Lok Sabha.

The TMC maintained its dominance in the state as Banerjee led her party to a resounding victory by bagging 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, whereas the principal opposition BJP was down to 12 and the Congress to one seat.

Apart from Lok Sabha MPs, Rajya Sabha MPs and district presidents will also attend the meeting.

“The party supremo has convened a meeting of our newly elected MPs on Saturday. During the meeting, the role and strategy of the party in the Lok Sabha will be discussed. The party might also decide on who will be the leader of the TMC party in Lok Sabha,” a party leader said.

-PTI

The Shiv Sena claimed that two newly elected Lok Sabha members from the Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena were in touch with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Addressing a press conference, Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske refused to name the two Lok Sabha members citing the anti-defection law, but said that four more lawmakers would soon join the two and cross over to the Shinde-led party.

“The two Lok Sabha members were unhappy with the manner in which Uddhav Thackeray sought votes from a particular community, who came in busloads,” Mhaske, the newly elected Lok Sabha member from Thane, said.

Mhaske said while two Lok Sabha member from Thackeray camp were in touch, four more would join them and support Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.

-PTI

From foreign leaders of neighbouring countries, to Asia’s first Loco pilot, the guest list for the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minsiter-elect Narendra Modi will feature several prominent invitees, as the Ministry of External Affairs accords priority to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.

Without naming the States, the Congress chief expressed concern that the party drew a blank in States where they had earlier form State governments. The obvious reference was to Himachal Pradesh, where it failed to a win a single Lok Sabha seat, as well as States like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where the Congress scored nil despite the party coming to power in these States not too long ago.

“While we celebrate the revival, we should pause a little as in some states we have not performed to our abilities and expectations. Further, we could not repeat our performance in States where we had previously done well in Vidhan Sabha elections and formed the government,” he said.

- Sandeep Phukan

At the CWC meet, Mallikarjun Kharge said that Congress’ performance, both in terms of seats and vote share, improved in seats through which the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through.

“In Manipur, we won both the seats. We also won seats in Nagaland, Assam, and Meghalaya. In Maharashtra, we emerged as the single-largest party. People from all walks of life supported the congress party to save the country’s democracy and constitution.”

Mr. Kharge added: “Other than this, we saw an increase in seats dominated by SC, ST, OBC, and Minority voters as well as in rural areas. Going forward, we have to make our presence felt in urban areas as well.”

-Sandeep Phukan

During the CWC meet, the Congress President thanked Sonia Gandhi for her advice and guidance as well as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for extensive campaigns across the country and in Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

“I would like to congratulate Rahul Gandhi for raising the issue of Constitution, economic disparity, unemployment, social justice and harmony and making them people issues. His 4000-km long Bharat Jodo Yatra two years ago and then the 6,600km long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra have the party to connect with the people, learn about their concerns and aspirations. The party’s campaign revolved around these issues,” he added.

- Sandeep Phukan

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Lok Sabha poll mandate is a “decisive rejection” of the politics of divisiveness and hate, and stressed that the INDIA bloc must continue functioning cohesively both inside and outside Parliament.

In his opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee meeting here, Kharge also asserted that while celebrating its “revival”, the party should pause a little as it did not perform to its abilities and expectations in some States.

“Further, we could not repeat our performance in states where we had previously done well in Vidhan Sabha elections and formed the government,” he said.

Separate discussions on each such State will be held soon, he said.

- PTI

Hindustan Aawam Morcha (HAM) leader and Former Chief Minister of Bihar, Jeetam Ram Manjhi has expressed confidence in the stability and longevity in the upcoming Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government.

He also slammed the opposition alliance for misleading the public on the issue of reservation and the constitution.

In an interview with ANI, the former CM of Bihar said, “One who treads on the difficult path has a speciality to reach his destination, not the one who treads on an easier path. This scenario matches exactly with the third term of Narendra Modi Ji. Initially, it was Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, who reigned for the third consecutive term as Prime Minister. After 62 years, this day has come again for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he will complete his full term.”

- ANI

Following the unsatisfactory performance of the Bhartiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called a meeting of all Ministers today.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at Lok Bhawan at 11 am. The CM instructed all ministers to remain present in the meeting.

The primary agenda of the meeting includes a thorough review of the departmental work undertaken by the ministers. Additionally, there will be an in-depth discussion on the feedback received from the public, aiming to identify and address any governance issues that may have influenced the election outcome.

Furthermore, CM Yogi will review the recruitment process for the vacant posts in another meeting scheduled for 6 pm.

- ANI

The INDIA coalition’s performance in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections has surprised everyone. The alliance has made deep inroads among all the major social groups except upper castes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win only 33 of the 75 seats it contested, and its allies won only one. On the other hand, the INDIA coalition won 43 seats.

The Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey data show that the general/upper caste Brahmin, Rajput, and Vaishya voters largely favoured the BJP, while the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Muslim voters preferred the INDIA coalition. 

Several Congress leaders have come out and voiced their demand that Rahul Gandhi should take over the position of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha citing that he will play a crucial role and this move will ultimately strengthen the party.

“Everything would be decided by the party high command. The whole country demands that Rahul Gandhi should surface as the main Leader of the Opposition. This position is apt and he will play a crucial role. The party will also strengthen the party,” Partap Singh Bajwa told ANI.

Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who is an MP elected from Ludhiana said that the final decision rests with the party’s leadership and it is Rahul Gandhi who has to decide whether to take this role.

“It has been our demand that Rahul Gandhi should come forward and handle everything but the final decision is of the leadership. Rahul Gandhi has to decide for himself. The PM should not be taking the oath. He was talking about ‘400 paar’... ‘Agar mai unki jagah pe hota toh shayad shapath nahi leta,” Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.

- ANI

Congress party MPs will also elect the new Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson at this meeting. Sonia Gandhi is likely to be re-elected as CPP Chairperson.

The Congress has emerged as the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, improving its tally to 99 from 52 in the 2019 elections.

This will be the first time that the Congress, since its ouster from power in 2014, will get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

- PTI

The Congress’ top leadership will deliberate on the Lok Sabha election results and chalk out its future strategy at a crucial meeting of the party’s working committee today.

An extended meeting of the party’s top decision-making body -- the Congress Working Committee (CWC) -- will be held at Hotel Ashok at 11 am where Congress Legislature Party leaders and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from various states will analyse its performance and suggest measures to strengthen the organisation.

A meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party comprising all newly-elected MPs of the Lok Sabha and those of the Rajya Sabha will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament at 5:30 pm, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

- PTI

The Change of Guard Ceremony will not take place on June 8, 15 and 22, 2024 at Rashtrapati Bhavan due to the preparation for the Swearing-in-Ceremony of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers at Forecourt, Rashtrapati Bhavan and address to both the Houses of Parliament by the President, said an official statement from President’s Secretariat.

Meanwhile, ahead of PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, top officials from Delhi Police conducted a thorough security review at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

- ANI

Aligning with India’s steadfast commitment to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and the ‘SAGAR’ vision, leaders from the neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region have been invited as distinguished guests for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in an official statement on Saturday said, “President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe; President of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu; Vice-President of Seychelles, Ahmed Afif; Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth; Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’; and Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, have accepted the invitation to attend.”

Highlighting the significance of the event, the MEA emphasised, “The visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term is in keeping with the highest priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR’ vision.”

- ANI