Election wrap: PM Modi's oath ceremony likely on June 8, Fadnavis offers to quit Maha deputy CM post, Priyanka's note for Rahul, & more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

A day after the announcement of Lok Sabha election results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, who accepted it and asked him to continue till the new government assumes office. Modi is reportedly set to take oath this week for a third straight term at the top office following the National Democratic Alliance's victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Prime Minister tendered his resignation after the Union cabinet recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha earlier in the day.

As BJP fell short of the majority mark of 272 for the first time since 2014 and is critically dependent on its allies for government formation, Modi told the outgoing Union cabinet that leaders should work for the country and its citizens notwithstanding the political numbers game.

This, and more, in top political developments today --

PM Narendra Modi tenders resignation, likely to take oath on June 8

After the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance attained a narrow majority on June 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tendered resignation. He is likely to take oath for the third time as Prime Minister on June 8. Additionally, members of the new cabinet are also expected to be sworn in on Saturday, reports news agency ANI.

The outcome of the 2024 parliamentary polls was declared on June 4. The Bharatiya Janata party fell short of the majority figure of 272, necessitating unconditional support from its allies.

Modi called on President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and tendered his resignation along with the Union Council of Ministers. The President accepted the resignation and requested the prime minister and the Union Council of Ministers to continue in office till the new government was formed, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

You win some, you lose some: PM Modi to outgoing cabinet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told the outgoing Union cabinet that leaders should work for the country and its citizens notwithstanding the political numbers game, according to News18.

“Numbers game will go on. You keep working for the nation and society,” he said in a meeting of the outgoing cabinet, according to the sources. “Good work has been done for 10 years. That has to be taken forward,” he said.

According to News18, the PM was buoyant at the cabinet meeting and told his colleagues not to be down with the results. "You win some, you lose some," he said.

'Allow me to step down from Deputy CM's post': Devendra Fadnavis

In a strong statement, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister has urged the party to allow him to step down from his post. The BJP leader added that he wants to focus on party work, which involves helping workers to strengthen the party in the state.

This move comes in the wake of the party's disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP's tally in Maharashtra dropped drastically from 23 seats in 2019 to just nine this year.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over the Lok Sabha poll outcome in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis said, "I take the responsibility for such results in Maharashtra. I was leading the party. I am requesting the BJP high command to relieve me from the responsibility of the government so that I can work hard for the party in upcoming elections."

“I want to work at the organisational level to improve the performance of the party in the ensuing Assembly elections. I want to devote my full time to strengthening the organisation. I am going to request my central leadership to free me from the responsibility of the post in the state government,” reiterated Fadnavis addressing the press.

'They see you now...': Priyanka Gandhi's heartfelt note for Rahul Gandhi after Lok Sabha results

A day after the announcement of Lok Sabha polls result, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi penned a heartfelt note for her brother Rahul Gandhi. Rahul, on June 4, won from both the seats he contested on in the Lok Sabha polls -- Wayanad and family stronghold Rae Bareli.

Heaping praise on Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka said that despite the "overwhelming propaganda of lies" being spread against him, he never backed down.

"You kept standing, no matter what they said and did to you... you never backed down whatever the odds, never stopped believing however much they doubted your conviction, you never stopped fighting for the truth despite the overwhelming propaganda of lies they spread, and you never allowed anger and hatred to overcome you, even when they gifted it to you every day," said Priyanka in a post on X.

"You fought with love, truth and kindness in your heart. Those who could not see you, see you now, but some of us have always seen and known you to be the bravest of all," she said, adding that she was proud to be his sister.

Gandhi won the Wayanad seat by a margin of more than 3.6 lakh votes and Rae Bareli by a margin of over 3.9 lakh votes. The Congress party also improved its tally from the 2019 general election, winning on over 99 seats as compared to 52 it won earlier.

Naveen Patnaik resigns as Odisha CM after loss to BJP, 24-year rule ends

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik formally submitted his resignation as the chief minister of Odisha to governor Raghubar Das at Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on June 5, a day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended his 24-year reign in the state.

Several BJD leaders had gathered at Patnaik's residence, however, Patnaik came alone to the governor's house to tender his resignation.

The BJD supremo only waved at waiting journalists and left the premises after submitting his resignation letter.

In the state polls, BJD won 51 seats, a massive dip from its 112 in the previous assembly elections. BJP, on the other hand, went above the half-way mark in the assembly with 78 seats, giving a blow to the state party, which has often supported the saffron party on the national front.

Patnaik’s party also failed to win a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as his saffron rival won 20 out of the 21 constituencies in the state, while the Congress managed to secure one.

Highest victory margin was 10.1 lakh votes, lowest was just 48: Meet the record-setters of Lok Sabha polls

With the announcement of Lok Sabha results on June 4, the BJP is set to return to power at the Centre for a third term. Even as it fell short of majority on its own, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed the mark paving the way for another term.

The results of the Lok Sabha polls saw many unexpected wins and losses. Similarly, the extent of win in some cases was far larger than expected while some candidates had to face loss by a miniscule margin, even lesser than 50 votes.

In terms of the biggest margin, Congress candidate from Assam's Dhubri Rakibul Hussain secured a historic victory by a vote margin of 10,12,476 votes. Hussain bagged 14,71,885 votes while All India United Democratic Front's Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal secured 4,59,409 votes.

Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena candidate won by the lowest margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He defeated Shiv Sena UBT candidate Amol Gajanan Kirtikar by just 48 votes in Mumbai North West constituency. Waikar secured 4,52,644 votes, while Kirtikar got 4,52,596 votes.