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

  1. The governing BJP of Narendra Modi has swept back to victory with a resounding majority of well over 300 seats
  2. The re-elected PM said his party would “never give up” on its ideals and culture
  3. Opposition Congress president Rahul Gandhi accepted defeat and congratulated the prime minister on his win
  4. The election was seen as a referendum on Mr Modi, a polarising figure adored by many but also blamed for divisions
  5. With 900 million eligible voters, the election for India’s lower house of parliament was the largest vote the world had seen
  6. 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