India elections

India election 2019: Narendra Modi thanks voters for 'historic mandate'

"We all want a new India. I want to bow down my head and say thank you," he said in a victory address to supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP is projected to get about 300 of the 543 seats in parliament.

It is likely to take a larger share of the vote than in the 2014 elections.

The main opposition alliance, which is headed by Rahul Gandhi's Congress party, has admitted defeat.

Voters to find out if Modi returns as PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed to power in 2014, campaigned hard to retain his commanding majority.

He was up against the resurgent main opposition Congress party and powerful regional rivals across the country.

Exit polls have predicted a win for Mr Modi, but analysts warn they have often been wrong in the past.

The last of seven rounds of voting over six weeks ended on Sunday and the counting of the stored ballots begins at 08:00 local time (02.30GMT.)