As Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes charge for a second time, after a long, divisive and gruelling election campaign, it is time for India’s political leadership to shift gears and turn on their governance lens.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks on Friday to form a new cabinet to tackle a stuttering economy and other challenges facing his second term after winning a big majority.

Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had won 296 of the 542 seats up for grabs and was ahead in seven more, up from the 282 it won in 2014.

Also read: Lok Sabha elections done, what next 5 years hold for key leaders

The BJP would have the first back-to-back majority in the lower house of parliament for a single party since 1984. Votes will be fully counted by Friday morning.

Here arse the highlights

5:52 pm IST Union Cabinet passes resolution to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha Union Cabinet passes resolution to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha.





3:05 pm IST Govt is safe: Karnataka deputy CM after BJP sweeps state “The chief minister called an informal cabinet meeting and we discussed the results of the Lok Sabha elections, including the results in Karnataka. This election mandate was for the Lok Sabha and the country and not for the state government,” said Dr G Parameshwara, deputy Karnataka chief minister. The rumours that this government is unstable that is coming from the opposition has also been discussed. All ministers have expressed their confidence in the governance of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. All our MLAs are with us and there is no danger to this government, he said. Coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah too is of the view that this government shouldn’t fall for any reasons.





2:45 pm IST To pave way for Deve Gowda, grandson Prajwal Revanna offers to resign Prajwal Revanna offers to resign from Hassan MP post so that his grandfather HD Deve Gowda can go to parliament. Their family hasn’t taken a decision on this yet.





2:05 pm IST Results of 535 seats declared, BJP wins 301 535 results have been declared so far of which 301 have gone to BJP, 52 to Congress, 23 to DMK, 22 to AITC, 21 to YSR, 18 to Shiv Sena, 16 to JD(U), 9 to TRS and BSP, 6 to LJSP, 5 to SP and NCP, 3 to IUML and TD, 2 each to JKNC, SAD and rest to Others, the Election Commission tweeted.





1:40 pm IST Mamata Banerjee to meet TMC leaders tomorrow West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee will tomorrow hold a meeting with her party leaders at her residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat tomorrow.





1:20 pm IST UP Congress chief Raj Babbar quits In the wake of the Congress’ dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, state party president Raj Babbar has sent his resignation to Rahul Gandhi. Babbar has sent his resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi , a spokesman of the party’s state unit Rajiv Bakshi told PTI in Lucknow. He has sent his resignation taking responsibility for the party’s showing in the just-concluded polls, Bakshi said.





12:01 pm IST Aung San Suu Kyi sends congratulatory letter to PM Modi State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his big win in the Lok Sabha elections 2019.





11:55 am IST PM Modi meets BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi “Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi is a scholar and intellectual par excellence. His contribution towards improving Indian education is remarkable. He has always worked to strengthen the BJP and mentor several Karyakartas, including me,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after meeting BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.





11:50 am IST Gratitude for all who stood by me, voted for me: Urmila Matondkar “Gratitude..is all I have for all of you who stood by me and who voted for me. In my defeat also I stand a winner because of all of you. And I promise to stand by you and never let you down,” Urmila Matondkar, tweeted Congress leader from Mumbai-North.





11:15 pm IST 2019 performance could boost BJP’s assembly prospects in Bengal Ten years ago, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which was in the opposition, won 19 out of the 42 seats in West Bengal, then considered a Left bastion. Mamata Banerjee’s party swept the subsequent assembly elections in 2011, winning 184 seats in the 294-member assembly and drawing curtains on the 34-year rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPI(M). The outcome in this year’s national elections could be equally significant for the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which registered a vote share increase of about 23 percentage points — from 17.02% in the 2014 elections to 40.2%, say experts.





11:10 pm IST In face of Modi wave, all Opposition unity efforts come to a nought They came, they met and then they lost the game. The opposition league, which was toying with names such as Secular Democratic Front, failed to dent or stop the Narendra Modi wave. “Today I won’t go into what led to the loss,’’ said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. “It is a fight of ideologies and I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.’’ To defeat Modi, Gandhi had agreed to give up several things. He hadn’t insisted on being the opposition’s PM candidate and he let regional leaders Sharad Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu take the lead in stitching the alliance. Here’s how Opposition failed to stop the Modi wave, despite unity effort





11:05 am IST Decoding Lok Sabha election results 2019 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has improved its seat tally of 282 in 2014 to 303 (wins and leads as of 10pm) in 2019. The BJP has maintained its near dominance in the northern and western regions of the country. Read: Decoding Lok Sabha elections 2019 in 10 questions





10:50 am IST ‘BJP’s successes because of greats like him’: PM Modi meets LK Advani “Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJP’s successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people,” tweeted PM Narendra Modi after meeting senior BJP leader LK Advani.





10:45 am IST Results of 527 seats declared, BJP wins 298, Congress win 52 The Election Commission has so far declared the results of 527 seats. Of the 527 Lok Sabha seats, 298 have gone to BJP, 52 to Congress, 23 to DMK, 22 to AITC, 21 to YSR, 18 to Shiv Sena, 16 to JD(U), nine each to TRS and BSP, six to LJSP, five each to SP and NCP, three to IUML and TD, two each to JKNC, SAD rest to Others.





10:35 am IST ‘Will you live up to your words now’: Babul Supriyo to Navjot Singh Sidhu “Will you live up to your words now,” tweeted Babul Supriyo to take a jibe at Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu who had earlier said that he world quit politics if Rahul Gandhi doesn’t win from Amethi Lok Sabha seat. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi faced a tough fight and lost the seat to BJP’s Srmiti Irani. However, he won from Kerala’s Wayanad, the second seat he had contested the Lok Sabha election 2019 from. Will you live up to your words now @sherryontopp, now that Amethi has clearly demonstrated their support for @smritiirani and BJP?



https://t.co/Qv7IRj8mJD — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) May 24, 2019 Sometimes overconfidence can make you say things but it's okay @sherryontopp , it's up to you to declare. After all you are in the league of people who like to make sweeping declarations, not us! #VijayiBharat — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) May 24, 2019





10:30 am IST PM Modi meets LK Advani PM Narendra Modi today arrived at senior BJP leader LK Advani’s residence. He is accompanied by BJP president Amit Shah.



