Business friendly Modi storms to historic win

India’s pro-business Opposition candidate Narendra Modi will be the next prime minister of the South Asia’s biggest country, with counting trends showing the Hindu nationalist and his party headed for a sweeping victory in the 16th Lok Sabha elections. Modi’s landslide was welcomed with a thundering rally on India’s stock markets and raucous celebrations at offices across the country of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), where supporters danced, exploded fireworks and handed out sweets. The BJP looked certain of a parliamentary majority, giving the 63-year-old former tea-seller ample room to advance economic reforms which were started 23 years ago by current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but stalled in recent years. Singh’s Congress party suffered its worst ever wipeout, a big boost to Modi’s goal of ending the dominance of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has governed for most of the 67 years of independent India. Singh congratulated Modi on Friday with a telephone call. Crowds surged around Modi’s car after he visited his mother's home in the western state of Gujarat. He sent a message saying "India has won," that instantly set a record as the country's most retweeted Twitter post. ‘I'm so happy because all of India wanted a strong government," shouted software engineer Vinod Rai at the BJP's Delhi headquarters. Rai echoed the sentiments of millions of Indians who bought into Modi's promises of job creation and economic growth to satisfy a bulging youth population. With more than six times the seats of its closest rival, Modi's is the most decisive mandate for any leader since the 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi propelled her son to office. Since 1989, India has been governed by coalitions. An alliance led by BJP was ahead in 337 seats with the Hindu nationalist party winning in 278 seats of the 543-seat parliament, counting trends showed, according to NDTV.