India’s Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi has received a hero’s welcome at his BJP party’s headquarters in Delhi after securing the most decisive election victory in three decades.
He was cheered by supporters after a victory parade from the airport.
Manmohan Singh, whose Congress party was crushed in the poll, has tendered his resignation as prime minister.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist and chief minister of Gujarat, campaigned on promises to revive the economy.
Results show the BJP gained a majority in parliament and will be able to govern without coalition partners.
Narendra Modi arrived to a hero’s welcome in the Indian capital for the first time after leading his party to a historic win. Supporters lined the streets, showering him with flowers en route to BJP headquarters.
Security was very tight: police lined the route and armed special forces personnel were deployed.
At party headquarters, the mood was festive. A brass band kept pace with a company of bagpipers and supporters danced and sang. It took a while for Modi’s cavalcade to make its way there and senior BJP politicians urged the crowd to stay calm.
“He’s coming, he’ll be here very soon,” one of them told exuberant supporters, while another begged people to get down from trees they had climbed to gain a vantage point.
As they spotted the cavalcade, Modi’s supporters at party HQ drove themselves into a frenzy, almost knocking down the security barricades in the process.
“Modi, Modi,” they screamed, giving him a rock-star welcome.
However, many Indians still have profound concerns over Modi because of claims he did little to stop communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 in which at least 1,000 people died, most of them Muslims.
Modi has always denied the allegations and was never charged.
After arriving in Delhi from his home state of Gujarat, Modi was greeted by flag-waving supporters. He stepped out of his car, flashing a victory sign.
A brass band, drummers and bagpipers met him at the BJP headquarters, while bunting and balloons decorated the street.
With votes still being counted, the BJP has won more than the 272 seats needed for a parliamentary majority and with its allies, the party could get more than 330 seats out of 543.
Speaking at the BJP headquarters, Modi said: “I want to bow, I want to give my thanks… to the people of India.”
He said Indian media had created “consciousness among voters” and a “great festival of Indian democracy”.
Modi later went on to Hindu holy city of Varanasi, in the north, for a ceremony by the river Ganges.
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