Here are the live updates from the counting centres across the country.

4:00 PM: We're taking forward Balasaheb's legacy, our infra push has benifitted people and our priority is Maharashtra's development: Eknath Shinde

3:55 PM: People have given us a resounding mandate. Our social welfare schemes have worked, and they are not freebies that will bleed the state: Ajit Pawar

3:50 PM: Senior Mahayuti leaders Ajith Pawar, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis breif Media

3:40 PM: Devendra Fadnavis denies claims of rift between Mahayuti leaders

3:30 PM: Priyanka Gandhi to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge after Wayanad win

2:50 PM: INDIA bloc crosses majority mark with 56 seats out of 81 in Jharkhand

2:40 PM: Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad blames EVM's for Maharashtra loss

2:20 PM: NCP (SP) candidate Fahad Ahmad trailing from Anushakthi Nagar seat, Sana Mallik overtakes lead

2:00 PM: Sikkim: SKM party candidates secure victories in both constituencies, with Satish Chandra Roy winning from Namchi and Aditya Golay Tamang from Soreng.

ALSO READ: Wayanad LS bypoll: Priyanka crosses lead achieved by Rahul in 2024 Lok Sabha polls

1:55 PM: Meghalaya: NPP candidate  Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma's wife Mehtab Chandee Sangma wins in the Gambegre reserved constituency.

1:55 PM: Bypolls: Congress and Aam Aadmi Party each secure 1 seat in Punjab

1:45 PM: Veteran BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha is leading with a massive margin of of 49360 votes in the Malabar Hill constituency in Maharashtra

1:45 PM: Uttarakhand bypolls: BJP's Asha Nautiyal wins in the Kedarnath constituency.

1:45 PM: "She will live up to people's expectations and raise their issues in Parliament," says Robert Vadra after wife Priyanka's victory in Wayanad

1:40 PM: West Bengal: Trinamool Congress wins in 3 of 6 constituencies and is leading in the remaining 3, heading for a clean sweep.

1:40 PM: Kerala bypolls: LDF candidate U.R. Pradeep wins in Chelakkara with a margin of 12,122 votes.

1:35 PM: Priyanka Gandhi wins Wayanad Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 3,57,580 votes.

1:35 PM: Kerala  bypolls: Congress candidate Rahul Mamkootattil wins by a margin of 18,724 votes in Palakkad

1:35 PM: Maharashtra: Mahayuti leaders Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar win from Nagpur South West, Kopri-Pachpakhadi, and Baramati, respectively.

1:30 PM: After the 11th round of counting in Maharashtra's Worli constituency, Aditya Thackeray further strengthens his lead, now ahead by 4,662 votes against Milind Deora

1:20 PM: Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, Ajith Pawar to adress media at 3:00 pm

1:15 PM: Priyanka Gandhi will win Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by a record margin: Telangana Chief Minister Revant Reddy

1:10 PM: "I want my father to continue as CM," says Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

1:00 PM: In a tight race in Maharashtra's Belapur constituency, NCP's Sandeep Naik has overtaken BJP's Manda Mhatre in the 19th round of counting. Naik has accumulated 62,940 votes, surpassing Mhatre, who stands at 59,524 votes.

12:50 PM: 'Ekh hain toh safe hain' (together, one is safe), 'Modi hain toh mumkin hain' (If Modi is there, it's possible):  Devendra Fadnavis' first reaction ahead of the landslide victory

12:40 PM: After trailing for some time in Maharashtra's Worli, Aditya Thackeray makes a comeback with a lead of 2,133 votes after eight rounds of counting

ALSO READ: Fadnavis, Shinde or Pawar? Speculation rises over CM post as Mahayuti heads for landslide win in Maharashtra

12:40 PM: BJP currently leading in six seats, SP strong in three seats in Uttar Pradesh assembly bypolls: EC Trends

12:35 PM: JMM leader and CM Hemant Soren’s brother, Basant Soren trails in Jharkhand’s Dumka; BJP’s Sunil Soren is leading with a margin of around 800 votes

12:30 PM: NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) candidate Sana Malik is trailing by 33885 votes from Anushakti Nagar constituency. She is the daughter of incumbent legislator Nawab Malik

12:30 PM: Fahad Ahmed, husband of actor Swara Bhasker, leads by 35,540 votes in the Anushakti Nagar constituency, contesting on a Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) ticket.

12:20 PM: Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule meets Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai

12:15 PM: Karnataka: Congress' Yasir Khan Pathan wins in Shiggaon

12:15 PM: This victory is a landslide victory, I thank all voters including my 'ladli behnas' and farmers: Eknath Shinde

12:00 PM: Gujarat bypolls: Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput is leading by a margin of 12,814 votes over his nearest rival and BJP candidate Swarupji Thakor

11:50 AM: Kerala bypolls: Congress’ Rahul Mamkootathil leading in Palakkad by a margin of over 5000 votes

11:50 AM: Samajwadi Party's Naseem Solanki leads by 26,287 votes over BJP's Suresh Awasthi after 14th round of counting in UP's Sishamau

ALSO READ: As Mahayuti crosses 200-mark, celebrations begin at BJP’s Mumbai office

11:45 AM: Shiv Sena’s Milind Deora gains lead in Maharashtra's Worli, Aditya Thackeray trailing by a margin of 597 votes

11:45 AM: Union Home Minister Amit Shah dials Devendra Fadnavis, congratulates him as Mahayuti set for landslide  victory

11:40 AM: BJP's Manda Mhatre leads by 1,830 votes against NCP’s Sandeep Naik in Maharashtra's Belapur constituency

11:40 AM: RJD ahead of the BJP in five of the six Jharkhand assembly seats it contested, leading in Deoghar, Godda, Kodarma, Bishrampur and Hussainabad.

11:20 AM: Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput is leading by a margin of 1,174 votes over BJP's Swarupji Thakor in Gujarat's Vav assembly seat

11:20 AM: After the sixth round, in Mumbai's Vandre (Bandra)-East constituency, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Varun Sardesai leads by 4,343 votes against Zeeshan Siddique

11:20 AM: JMM candidate Stephen Marandi is leading from Jharkhand's Maheshpur seat by a margin of more than 13,000 votes

11:20 AM: After six rounds of counting in Maharashtra's Worli, Aditya Thackeray has taken the lead, now ahead by 650 votes against Milind Deora

11:15 AM: Kerala: Congress' Rahul Mamkootattil is leading by 1338 votes in Palakkad. 

ALSO READ: Shinde’s Shiv Sena surges ahead, does this secure his claim as 'Real' Sena? will he retain CM post?

10:55 AM: Neck-and-neck contest in Kerala's Palakkad, BJP's C. Krishnakumar slightly ahead with a lead of 464 votes

10:50 AM: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren is trailing by around 4,000 votes to BJP’s Munia Devi in the Gandey seat

10:45 AM: BJP candidate Sanjay Kelkar is leading with a margin of 10,034 votes against Sena (UBT) candidate Rajan Vichare in Maharashtra’s Thane constituency

10:35 AM: Wayanad bypoll: Priyanka in lead by over one lakh votes

10:35 AM: Shiv Sena (UBT) cries foul in Maharashtra polls; How can all Sena MLAs win? Something is wrong, results are not people's mandate: Sanjay Raut

10:30 AM: Maharashtra: After the third round of counting, Varun Sardesai of Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading in Mumbai's Vandre (Bandra)-East constituency with 9,338 votes, ahead of MLA Zeeshan Siddique of NCP (Ajit Pawar), who has secured 5,499 votes.

10:30 AM: Karnataka bypoll: Congress candidate CP Yogeshwar ahead from Channapatna seat with a significant lead of 11,175 votes agaisnt JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy

10:25 AM: Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, who shifted from the JMM to the BJP, is trailing from the Seraikela seat. JMM’s Ganesh Mahali is leading in the constituency by more than 2000 votes.

10:25 AM: Kerala: BJP's C Krishnakumar leads by 1025 votes in Palakkad

10:25 AM: Punjab by-poll results: Aam Aadmi Party leads in 3 assembly seats

10:25 AM: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leading in all six assembly seats in West Bengal

10:20 AM: Congress leader Yasir Khan Pathan overtakes BJP's Bharat Bommai, takes lead in Karnataka's Shiggaon assembly seat

10:20 AM: Jharkhand results: INDIA bloc leading in 41 seats, while NDA trailing by 37 seats

10:15 AM: Maharashtra: Mahayuti crosses 200 mark in trends

10:10 AM: Congress leading in all 3 seats in Karnataka bypolls

10:10 AM: Senior Congress leader and ex-Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan is trailing by 1,590 votes in Maharashtra's Karad South assembly seat

10:00 AM: Maharashtra: After the second round of counting in Worli, Aditya Thackeray holds a narrow lead of 696 votes. Thackeray has secured 8,236 votes, followed by Milind Deora with 7,540 votes.

10:00 AM: AIMIM's Imtiyaz Jaleel leads from Maharashtra's Aurangabad East

10:00 AM: Maharashtra: BJP led Mahayuti nears 200 mark, with 1.3% of the votes counted

9:50 AM: Jharkhand: JMM’s Basant Soren trailing, BJP’s Sunil Soren gains lead

9:50 AM: Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis leading by 3,939 votes in Nagpur South West constituency against Congress candidate Vinod Gudadhe Patil

9:50 AM: Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Aaditya Thackeray leads against Milind Deora from Maharashtra's Worli seat

9:45 AM: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra maintains lead of 50,000+ votes in Kerala's Wayanad LS seat

9:45 AM: Maharashtra DCM Devendra Fadnavis trails from Maharashtra's Nagpur South West

9:45 AM: Karnataka: BJP's Bharat Bommai leading by 440 votes over Yasir Khan Pathan in 3 round of counting in Shiggaon seat

ALSO READ: ECI website faces outage amid vote counting in Jharkhand, Maharashtra 

9:30 AM: JMM’s Basant Soren, Hemant Soren’s brother, is leading in Jharkhand’s Dumka

9:25 AM: Maharashtra: Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan trailing in Mumbai’s Bandra

9:25 AM: Jharkhand: JMM candidate and CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana, who is a sitting MLA from Gandey, is leading from the seat.

9:20 AM: Congress’ Amit Deshmukh leading in Maharashtra’s Latur City

9:20 AM: NCP (SP)‘s Fahad Ahmad leading in Maharashtra’s Anushakti Nagar

9:15 AM: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde leading from Kopri by over 4,000 votes

9:15 AM: Early Trends: INDIA bloc leads in Jharkhand

9:10 AM: Karnataka bypolls: Cong leads in Sandur, BJP and JD(S) ahead in Shiggaon and Channapatna

9:05 AM: BJP ahead in early trends in Kerala's Palakkad

9:05 AM: Wayanad early trends: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi leads by over 24,000 votes

9:00 AM: Maharashtra: Mahayuti hits 100 seat mark in early trends

9:00 AM: Independent Harshvardhan Jadhav leading over wife Sanjana Jadhav of Shiv Sena from Maharashtra's Kannad in early trends

8:50 AM: BJP's Devendra Fadnavis gains early leads from Maharashtra's Nagpur South West

8:50 AM: BJP's Parag Shah is leading from Maharashtra’s Ghatkopar

ALSO READ: Will Champai Soren become a game-changer for BJP in Jharkhand polls?

8:45 AM: Dramatic turn in early trends of Maharashtra elections; MVA now leading on 60+ seats

8:45 AM: Aslam Ramjanali Shaikh of Congress leading in Maharashtra's Malad West

8:40 AM: Bahujan Vikas Aghadi’s Kshitij Thakur leads in Maharashtra’s Nalasopara

8:40 AM: Maharashtra: BJP-led Mahayuti alliance surges ahead in initial trends

8:40 AM: Maharastra: Congress' Nana Patole trails in Sakoli

8:35 AM: Raj Thackeray’s son Amit leads from Maharashtra‘a Mahim

8:35 AM: Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar leads over Nephew Yogendra Pawar in early trends in Baramati

8:30 AM: Bypolls: Priyanka Gandhi leads by 460 votes in wayanad

8:30 AM: Early Trends: INDIA bloc trails in Jharkhand

8:30 AM: Hemant Soren's brother Basant Soren leading from Dumka.

8:30 AM: Aaditya Thackeray leads from Worli

8:25 AM: Zishan Siddique leads fron Vandre East

8:25 AM: BJP candidate Rahul Narwekar leading in Colaba

8:25 AM: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren leads from Barhait

8:20 AM: NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar is ahead in Karjat Jamkhed assembly seat

8:20 AM: Eknath Shinde leading in Kopri Panchpakhadi

8:20 AM: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar leads from Colaba

8:15 AM: NDA takes early lead in both Maharashtra, Jharkhand

8:15 AM: Ajit Pawar leads from family bastion Baramati in Pawar v Pawar battle

8:15 AM: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole leads from Sakoli

8:10 AM: Early trends have started coming, with ballots being counted first, followed by EVM votes.

8:00 AM: Counting of votes begins for Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly polls

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New Delhi: Activists and rights campaigners John Dayal, Aakar Patel, Vidya Dinker and Harsh Mander have expressed serious concern over the alleged rise in violence and intimidation against Christians in several districts, accusing both Hindutva organisations and sections of the police of targeting the minority community.

In a strongly worded communication addressed to the state administration, the signatories said they had received disturbing testimonies from affected people regarding social boycott, denial of burial rights, physical assaults and police intimidation.

According to the activists, Christians in some areas were allegedly boycotted by villagers, while people who traded with them, employed them or provided them shelter were also targeted.

The letter also highlighted what it described as “gruesome” incidents involving the prevention of burials of Christians within village burial grounds and even on privately owned lands belonging to Christian families. The activists said there were cases where bodies remained unburied for days due to opposition from local groups, while in some instances burials were allegedly forced to take place in forest areas outside village limits. Funeral prayers were also reportedly disrupted.

The signatories further alleged that in certain districts the violence escalated into physical assaults on Christians. They claimed that some victims were tied to trees and beaten, while others were allegedly placed inside sacks and assaulted. The letter also mentioned a few reported instances of sexual violence and attempts to burn people alive, which, according to them, were stopped at the last moment.

Expressing particular concern, the activists said many victims had testified that police personnel joined hands with Hindutva organisations to force Christians into signing “compromise” agreements. These agreements allegedly required them to give up their faith and stop collective worship.

The letter also accused the police of registering serious criminal cases against victims of attacks instead of taking action against the attackers. According to the signatories, many of those attacked were detained in police stations and jails, while in some cases the police themselves allegedly played a direct role in intimidation and violence against Christians.

Stating that there appeared to be a “complete breakdown in the constitutional machinery of the state” in relation to Christian minorities, the activists urged the administration to uphold and protect the constitutional and religious rights of all citizens without discrimination based on religion, caste or creed.

The letter was signed by John Dayal, Aakar Patel, Vidya Dinker and Harsh Mander.