Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Monday, a day after he visited his home state Gujarat and took his mother's blessings.
Riding on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landmark victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 302 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The BJP, which had won 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, managed to increase its tally and notched up 303 seats in the 2019 elections.
President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of the Union Council of Ministers on May 30 at 7 p.m. at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Here are the LIVE updates:
1:30 pm: PM Modi concludes his address and thanks the people of Varanasi.
1:10 pm: There must be shortcomings in us as well, but our intentions are right. Today, in India's political canvass, if there is any political party that works with honesty and democracy, its BJP: PM Modi
1:04 pm: There has to be synergy between party and government. Government forms policy and works on that. But the party makes strategy, says PM Modi
12:59 pm: Some people tried to create a false perception in these elections. They were defeated, says PM Modi
12:57 pm: Political analysts will have to accept that beyond arithmetic, there is chemistry in politics, says Modi
12:55 pm: The supporters in Kashi didn't weigh the elections on the scales of win-loss. They considered this a festival of 'Lok shiksha', 'Lok sampark', 'Lok sangrah', 'Lok samarpan'.
12:53 pm: When I interacted with party workers, I had said that while one Narendra Modi filed nomination but the election will be fought by Narendra Modi in every home. You all became Narendra Modi and ran the whole campaign: PM Modi in Varanasi
12:52 pm: I had spoken to workers of Varanasi. All of you had ordered me that I can't set foot in Varanasi for a month. The nation might elect me as the PM but four you, I am a worker. For me, your order was the priority: PM Modi
12:50 pm: On May 19, I wanted to come to Kashi but since I had been asked not to come to Kashi, I decided to go to Kedarnath. There would have hardly been any candidate who was so carefree as I was during the polling.
12:30 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah thanks Varanasi for support to Modi, says it's perhaps only election where the candidate did not visit the constituency after filing nomination. "Modi transformed Kashi in five years," says Shah.
10:55 am: PM Modi reaches Kashi Vishwanath temple where he performed a special 'puja'.
10:00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Varanasi. He will offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and hold a meeting with party workers later today.
8:30 am: A BJP worker, Chandan Shaw, was shot dead by unidentified assailants late last night in Bhatapara of North 24 Parganas district.
