Just an hour after counting began, the Congress came closest to conceding defeat as party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi admitted on NDTV: "It looks pretty bleak." (
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The BJP and allies looked set to form a government on their own, with early leads showing big gains for the opposition party, led by
Narendra Modi. They were projected to win 290 seats. (
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The Congress and its allies seemed to be staring at double digits in the 545-member Parliament. The Congress' campaign was led by
Rahul Gandhi, who was also trailing in initial rounds in his own constituency, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr Singhvi said the party would wait till 11 am to make any concession, but added, "I agree it sounds and looks bleak." (
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He, however, added that the margin of defeat would not be as bad as projected at the moment.
"We expect better figures from the east and south," he said.