Narendra Modi to take oath as PM on May 26

BJP president Rajnath Singh then formally declared Modi to be their leader.

Singh described the moment as historic, and said this heralded an era in Indian politics that was dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with all other parties pushed to a distant second as "others".

"This is an unprecedented, historic moment. Although Janata Party secured a majority in 1977 and ousted the Congress, it was a conglomeration of various parties. The BJP is the first party which has achieved this feat on its own," Singh said and added they have made inroads in states such as Kerala and West Bengal where it had been a non-entity in the past.

Singh said he was "happy and thrilled", and described the day as the fruition of party ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya's dream of a "strong, self-dependent, and free" India.