New Delhi, May 23 (IANS): The Congress headquarters in the capital wore a deserted look on Thursday with counting trends showing only a marginal improvement in the partys tally from the previous Lok Sabha elections.

Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence as the trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead on 298 seats while the cCongress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion.

Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the results trends on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections.

Earlier in the morning, some party workers performed a "havan" outside the party office, praying that the day will bring good results for the party.

However, the party leaders were taken aback by the trends as they were expecting a minimum of 100 seats.

Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh said the party fought the Lok Sabha elections on issues which affected the common man and focused on development matters.

"Let us wait for the final results," he said.