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India election results 2014: Thousands greet next prime minister Narendra Modi on victory tour India election results 2014: Thousands greet next prime minister Narendra Modi on victory tour
(about 1 hour later)
India's next prime minister was greeted by thousands of jubilant supporters in New Delhi on Saturday. India's next prime minister received a hero’s welcome as he arrived in the nation’s capital on Saturday and held his first meeting with senior colleagues since Friday’s election victory. Narenda Modi said the win was not his but belonged to the people who had worked for his victory – the scale of which had surprised everyone.
Narendra Modi hung out of the window of his car as it drove past cheering crowds outside the capital's airport. Thousands of people turned out to see Mr Modi drive from the airport to the headquarters of his Bharatiya Janata Party in the centre of Delhi. There, a modest crowd of supporters and party workers cheered and sang. A machine pumped thousands of flowers over the crowds and the warm air was fragrant with marigolds and roses.
He was on his way to the headquarters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to start the formation of a new government after its landslide election victory. “This victory should not be put under the name of Modi. It should be put under the name of the BJP,” he said, standing on a stage outside the BJP headquarters. “This has only been possible because of the hard work and dedication of party activists and party workers.”
It is likely to be in place by next week but no date has so far been set, according to BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar. Mr Modi’s BJP by itself is expected to collect 284 seats and will total 339 when the seats of its traditional allies are included. The scale of the victory has not been seen since the election of 1984. The ruling Congress, by contrast is likely to be reduced to a humiliating 44 seats, its lowest ever.
The party's offices in the centre of Delhi were draped with celebratory garlands made of marigold flowers and multicolored balloons. “People have started to think about development. They have given their vote without thinking about caste or religion,” said Rana Hinamu, a 29-year-old businessman from Bihar. “Young people want change in the development sector.”
Supporters blew conch shells, which traditionally mark the start of most Hindu rituals, and showered with Mr Modi with rose petals as he walked towards his office. Earlier, India’s outgoing premier, Manmohan Singh, tendered his resignation to the country’s president, Pranab Mukherjee. He will remain in a caretaker capacity until Mr Modi is officially sworn in the coming days.
Mr Singh, an economist often credited helping kickstart India’s economic transformation back in 1991, served as prime minister for ten years. But during his second term in particular, he was seen as being over-ruled and sidelined by the Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi, and his stature diminished.
In a final televised address to the nation, he said he was forever grateful that as a poor child, born in what is now Pakistan, he was able to rise to high office. ‘My life and tenure in office is an open book,” he said. “I have always tried to do my best in serving this great nation of ours.”
 
Narendra Modi was surrounded by supporters at the airport in New Delhi. There was little sign of the controversy around the Hindu nationalist party or Mr Modi's term as chief minister of Gujarat.Narendra Modi was surrounded by supporters at the airport in New Delhi. There was little sign of the controversy around the Hindu nationalist party or Mr Modi's term as chief minister of Gujarat.
“This victory has created a new confidence among people,” the 63-year-old said to cheering crowds. “Hundreds of thousands of BJP workers deserve credit for what we have achieved. ”
The BJP wiped out the ruling Congress party that dominated Indian politics for all but a decade since the country gained independence from British rule in 1947.
The victory parade came a day after the party crossed the 272-seat majority needed to create a government without forming a coalition with smaller parties.The victory parade came a day after the party crossed the 272-seat majority needed to create a government without forming a coalition with smaller parties.
The last time any single party won a majority in India was in 1984, when the Congress party swept more than 400 seats following the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.The last time any single party won a majority in India was in 1984, when the Congress party swept more than 400 seats following the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
But 30 years later, India is now in the midst of rapid economic and social change, with 13 million young people entering the job market each year but not enough jobs being created.But 30 years later, India is now in the midst of rapid economic and social change, with 13 million young people entering the job market each year but not enough jobs being created.
Additional reporting by AP