New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a super-sized victory for a second term in office. With the elections establishing Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed BJP will not only surpass its 2014 performance but also cross 300-seat mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

The euphoria of the victory was capped by a sombre speech by Modi in which he promised to devote 'every moment of my life and every fibre of my body' to the welfare of the nation. He also vowed he will never do anything with ill-intention, nor will he do anything to enrich himself. "Whenever you judge me, judge me on these three parameters. If I fall short on these, curse me. But I assure my countrymen that what I have said in public I will do my best to fulfil," he said. Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. What’s past is past, he said.