Narendra Modi wrested the top job in the country on Friday as a saffron wave swept most of India
Narendra Modi wrested the top job in the country on Friday as a saffron wave swept most of India, lifting the Bharatiya Janata Party to its highest-ever tally and leaving the Congress in tatters.
Underlining the humiliation of India's oldest party, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had to scrap hard to beat the BJP's Smriti Irani in the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi, while several senior ministers bit the dust.
Modi led the BJP back to power after a decade in the opposition, taking advantage of public anger at the Congress for uncontrolled high prices, corruption scams and rising unemployment.
The triumph capped an amazing run for the 63-year-old chief minister of Gujarat, who ran a high-voltage campaign that rewrote the political rulebook and knocked his rivals off balance. The result is the biggest landslide in 30 years, and the first time since 1984 that a single party has a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The mandate gives Modi the chance to shape the new government as he wishes, without the pulls and pressures that have hobbled past coalitions. Expectations are growing that he will slash red tape, revamp tax laws and unveil measures to kickstart growth.
The Congress' incumbency problems were compounded by a listless showing from Rahul, who failed to grab the public imagination. He finally emerged in the afternoon and acknowledged that the responsibility for the defeat was his. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet will resign on Saturday.
Modi, who triumphed from both Vadodara and Varanasi, tweeted "India has won!" and went to seek the blessings of his 90-year-old mother Hiraben in Ahmedabad. Later, he told an adoring crowd in Vadodara, "I trust the people of India and they trust me, and it is the power of trust that will work for this country."
He will fly to Delhi on Saturday for talks with senior partymen and then journey to Varanasi later in the evening to offer thanks at the iconic temple town.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was limping in at 57, heading for its worst-ever tally. Leads and results from all 543 seats were in.
The BJP-led alliance swept the electorally key state of Uttar Pradesh, leading or winning in a stunning 73 of the 80 seats, its campaign orchestrated by Modi's right-hand man Amit Shah. Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which runs the state government, won just a handful of seats and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was wiped out.
Congratulations came in from across the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Underlining the humiliation of India's oldest party, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had to scrap hard to beat the BJP's Smriti Irani in the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi, while several senior ministers bit the dust.
Modi led the BJP back to power after a decade in the opposition, taking advantage of public anger at the Congress for uncontrolled high prices, corruption scams and rising unemployment.
The triumph capped an amazing run for the 63-year-old chief minister of Gujarat, who ran a high-voltage campaign that rewrote the political rulebook and knocked his rivals off balance. The result is the biggest landslide in 30 years, and the first time since 1984 that a single party has a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The mandate gives Modi the chance to shape the new government as he wishes, without the pulls and pressures that have hobbled past coalitions. Expectations are growing that he will slash red tape, revamp tax laws and unveil measures to kickstart growth.
The Congress' incumbency problems were compounded by a listless showing from Rahul, who failed to grab the public imagination. He finally emerged in the afternoon and acknowledged that the responsibility for the defeat was his. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet will resign on Saturday.
Modi, who triumphed from both Vadodara and Varanasi, tweeted "India has won!" and went to seek the blessings of his 90-year-old mother Hiraben in Ahmedabad. Later, he told an adoring crowd in Vadodara, "I trust the people of India and they trust me, and it is the power of trust that will work for this country."
He will fly to Delhi on Saturday for talks with senior partymen and then journey to Varanasi later in the evening to offer thanks at the iconic temple town.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was limping in at 57, heading for its worst-ever tally. Leads and results from all 543 seats were in.
The BJP-led alliance swept the electorally key state of Uttar Pradesh, leading or winning in a stunning 73 of the 80 seats, its campaign orchestrated by Modi's right-hand man Amit Shah. Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which runs the state government, won just a handful of seats and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was wiped out.
Congratulations came in from across the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
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