in the 2014 Lok Sabha election (in the 2017 assembly election it bagged merely 19 seats). But just when the chips were down for her, the Dalit leader decided to sew a strategic alliance with the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, jumping right back into reckoning.

If exit polls are anything to go by, the alliance is expected to make gains in the politically crucial state with various exit polls giving them seats in the range of 30-55 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. This could propel her into the role of a kingmaker in case of an unclear verdict.

7:35 am IST

Traffic in Delhi ahead of counting in Delhi

The Delhi Traffic police tweeted this morning that traffic in the cityhistory at 67.1% (tentative figure from the Election Commission) beating the previous record of 66.4% in the 2014 polls.

3:12 am IST

Did you know? In 1996, Vajpayee gave up Gandhinagar seat for Lucknow

BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee won from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in 1996 but chose to resign and retain the other seat he had won, Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. This forced a by-election, which was won by Vijay Patel, who defeated film actor Rajesh Khanna.

2:40 am IST

Did you know? Nitin Gandkari contested his first Lok Sabha elections in 2014

Nitin Gadkari, who has been in politics for more than four decades, contested his first Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

At national level, elections were a battle between NDA, UPA

At the national level, it was a battle between the NDA, led by the