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India election: Narendra Modi secures second term after sweeping victory

The jubilant PM tells supporters India "wins again" following his re-election and vows to "build a strong and inclusive India".

Indian Prime Minister and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Narendra Modi gestures to supporters as he arrives to file his election nomination papers at district collectorate office, in Varanasi on April 26, 2019.
Image: Narendra Modi began the campaign under pressure after losing three state elections
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a second term after winning the country's general election.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims it has won re-election with a commanding lead, with Mr Modi tweeting: "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!"

The election has been seen as a referendum on Mr Modi, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog has endured.

He began the campaign under pressure after losing three state elections amid rising anger over farm prices and unemployment.

However, campaigning shifted to national security after a suicide car bomb killed 40 Indian police in the contested Kashmir region in February.

Indian Congress party president Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting at Saroornagar Stadium in Hyderabad on August 14, 2018. - Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the capital city of Southern Indian State of Telangana. (Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP) (Photo credit should read NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: Mr Modi described Congress rival Rahul Gandhi as a member of an out-of-touch elite

Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks increasing social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Mr Modi has presented himself as a self-made man who will cut red tape and help India reach its economic potential.

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He also labelled his main rival, Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi, as a member of an out-of-touch elite.

BJP used social media, including Twitter, where Mr Modi has the world's second-highest number of followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters.

In the world's largest democratic exercise, voters cast ballots on 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse.