Lok Sabha polls: Why No 16 is important?

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: India is awaiting the results of one of the most keenly-watched General Elections in the country`s history. The most incredible coincidence to have taken place this polls is that the votes, cast to elect members of the 16th Lok Sabha and to choose the 16th Prime Minister, are being counted on 16th May. The Election Commission is all set to count today some 550 million votes cast in the Lok Sabha polls that are widely expected to return the BJP to power. Around 66 percent of the 814 million electorate voted between April 7 and May 12 across the country to pick a new 543-member Lok Sabha. Exit polls at the end of the staggered election have predicted a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). A total of 8,251 candidates, including 668 women and five transgenders, contested the Lok Sabha battle. The contestants included 3,234 independents.