Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a massive victory for a second term in office.
The BJP got an absolute majority getting 272 of the 458 seats, results of which were declared past midnight and are on course to touch the 300-seat mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Modi is the third prime minister of the country and the first non-Congress one -- who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha.
In his victory speech, PM Modi said, "Its the victory of democracy and people," adding that the world will have to recognise the power of India's democracy.
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This is the 21st century, this is a new India. "It's the victory of those who were once deprived of proper healthcare," he said.
Below are the LIVE updates:
7:25 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met President Ramnath Kovind and submitted his resignation. Other cabinet ministers have also resigned. President Kovind has accepted their resignation and requested Modi and his cabinet to continue till a fresh oath is administered to them for the second term after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance stormed won a comfortable majority of 352 seats.
4:18 pm: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh in a press conference in Bhopal said BJP never asked for votes in the name of development. He also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the massive victory.
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1:38 pm: Yogendra Mishra, President of District Congress Committee- Amethi, resigned from the post taking responsibility for the defeat.
12:45 pm: UP Congress president Raj Babbar sends resignation to Rahul Gandhi over party's performance in Lok Sabha polls.
12:35 pm: According to sources, the party has convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making the body of the party at 11 AM tomorrow where party chief Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation.
12:00 pm: Senior bureaucrats of the state arrived at YSRCP Chief Jaganmohan Reddy's residence in Amaravati. Jaganmohan Reddy will take oath as the Chief Minister on 30th May.
11:15 am: Former Jammu and Kashmir CM and winning candidate from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah danced during celebrations at the party office in Jammu.
10:30 am: PM Narendra Modi arrived at senior BJP leader LK Advani's residence in Delhi with BJP president Amit Shah. Modi will meet Murli Manohar Joshi later today.
9:57 am: Sambit Patra, Odisha's BJP candidate from Puri lost by over 11,000 votes to BJD's Pinaki Misra.
8:15 am: In a first, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) could not manage to win even a single seat in the 17th Lok Sabha elections.
7:45 am: BJP wins on 288 seats, leading on 15; Congress wins on 50 seats, leading on 2, out of total 542 Parliamentary constituency seats.
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7:35 am: US President Donald Trump congratulated Narendra Modi on his "big" election victory and said "great things" are in store for the bilateral strategic ties under the Indian Prime Minister's second innings.
6:50 am: BJP candidates in Maharashtra --Gopal Shetty, Poonam Mahajan and Manoj Kotak-- win Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seats respectively.
6:45 am: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari won the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat by 2,16,009 votes.
6:40 am: Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kirron Kher won the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat by 46,970 votes. She was fielded against Congress' Pawan Kumar Bansal.
6:35 am: Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav won Mainpuri and Azamgarh Lok Sabha parliamentary seats respectively.
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6:30 am: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi retains her Rae Bareli seat.
