BBC News Coverage
By Ayeshea Perera, Aparna Alluri, Krutika Pathi, Simon Fraser, Vikas Pandey, Courtney Subramanian, Kevin Ponniah and Gareth Evans
As the day draws to a close in India, we are ending our live coverage of this historic general election. Here’s what you need to know:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured another five-year term after his Bharatiya Janata Party won a crushing victory
- Results so far show the party is set to win about 300 of the 543 seats in parliament, exceeding expectations and building on the commanding majority it achieved in 2014
- The main opposition alliance, headed by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party, has admitted defeat. Congress is set to win fewer than 60 seats
- Mr Gandhi has also lost his Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh. He has held it since 2004 and it is considered a stronghold of Congress and the Gandhi family in particular
- The re-election of Mr Modi brings to a close the largest election the world has ever seen. More than 600 million people voted in the marathon six-week contest
Summary
- The governing BJP of Narendra Modi has swept back to victory with a resounding majority of well over 300 seats
- The re-elected PM said his party would “never give up” on its ideals and culture
- Opposition Congress president Rahul Gandhi accepted defeat and congratulated the prime minister on his win
- The election was seen as a referendum on Mr Modi, a polarising figure adored by many but also blamed for divisions
- With 900 million eligible voters, the election for India’s lower house of parliament was the largest vote the world had seen
- More than 2,000 parties and 8,000 candidates are contesting 543 seats. A party or coalition needs at least 272 MPs to form a government
