India's Modi: Up to task of change

He promises to do god’s work

Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and India's next prime minister Narendra Modi performs evening rituals, with BJP President Rajnath Singh, second left, and Amit Shah, left, standing on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, an ancient city revered by millions of devout Hindus, India, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Modi will be India's next prime minister, winning the most decisive victory the country has seen in more than a quarter century and sweeping the long-dominant Congress party from power, results showed Friday. An elaborately decorated platform was built for him to offer prayers on the banks of the river. Saffron flags fluttered above the flower bedecked platform and thousands of supporters and onlookers milled around to watch as Hindu priests chanted sacred verses and burnt incense. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and India's next prime minister Narendra Modi performs evening rituals, with BJP President Rajnath Singh, second left, and Amit Shah, left, standing on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, an ancient city revered by millions of devout Hindus, India, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Modi will be India's next prime minister, winning the most decisive victory the country has seen in more than a quarter century and sweeping the long-dominant Congress party from power, results showed Friday. An elaborately decorated platform was built for him to offer prayers on the banks of the river. Saffron flags fluttered above the flower bedecked platform and thousands of supporters and onlookers milled around to watch as Hindu priests chanted sacred verses and burnt incense. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Incoming Indian leader Narendra Modi told thousands of supporters in one of Hinduism's holiest cities that he represented a break from past governments after winning the nation's biggest electoral mandate in 30 years.

"There's a lot of work that god has put me on this earth for," Modi said Saturday on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi, his constituency, after attending a prayer service at a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and transformation. "A lot of it is dirty work, but I am up to the task."

Thousands of people threw rose petals at Modi's convoy as it made its way through the streets of Varanasi, with onlookers and security officials taking pictures. Earlier, Modi greeted supporters in New Delhi, where his Bharatiya Janata Party said it would nominate him formally for prime minister this week.

The outcome, which saw Modi trounce the Gandhi dynasty, boosted stocks and the rupee as investors bet a stable government would make changes needed to bolster growth in the world's largest democracy.

"People want growth, people want jobs, people want low inflation and people want less corruption," said S. Narayan, a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore. "That's the message from this mandate."

On the bank of the Ganges, Modi and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders performed a ceremony called "aarti," the final ritual of a Hindu prayer that is conducted as a reminder that god is at the center of life. Modi softly clapped his hands while listening to Hindu hymns on a stage decorated with marigold garlands.

Modi, who had sacred sandalwood paste smeared on his forehead, referred to the river as "Mother Ganges," which Hindus consider holy. The devout believe bathing in the Ganges cleanses sins.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies won 333 of 543 seats up for grabs in the lower house of Parliament, more than the 272 needed for a majority, Election Commission data showed. The Congress group won 59 seats, the worst performance for the party that has governed India for most of its history. Smaller regional parties took 151 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party itself won 282 seats, the biggest victory for a single party since Congress got 404 seats in 1984 in the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led bloc received 37 percent of 551 million ballots cast, compared with 23 percent for the Congress group and 40 percent for smaller regional parties, vote tallies show.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a farewell address Saturday, wished Modi success and called on the nation to respect the results. Singh resigned shortly after, capping a 10-year run as India's prime minister, the third-longest tenure in the country's history.

Rahul Gandhi, the son, grandson and great grandson of Indian prime ministers, took responsibility for the defeat.

"Congress party has done pretty badly," Gandhi, 43, said Friday in New Delhi as he stood alongside his mother, Sonia Gandhi, the party president. "There is a lot for us to think about."

Modi's power in Parliament won't be unchecked. While the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will have a majority in the lower house, they have only 61 of the 245 members in the upper house, where seats are distributed based on the strength of parties in state assemblies. The upper house must approve major legislation related to tax, foreign investment and constitutional changes.

Modi, the son of a tea seller, is favored by business leaders because of his record in Gujarat, the state he's governed since 2001, which has attracted companies such as Tata Motors Ltd. The state's per capita income nearly quadrupled during Modi's tenure to $1,040, rising at a faster pace than the national average.

Opponents of Modi have said he'll stoke violence between Hindus and Muslims, which has played a defining role in politics since independence. Modi has been accused of failing to stop riots in Gujarat 12 years ago that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, and had prompted the U.S. to deny him a visa.

He has repeatedly denied the accusations, and a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence he gave orders that prevented assistance from reaching those being attacked.

Modi's bloc won 71 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which has more Muslims than any other. The Bharatiya Janata Party won only 10 seats in the state in the 2009 election.

Information for this article was contributed by Jeanette Rodrigues, Bibhudatta Pradhan, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Abhijit Roy Chowdhury, Andrew MacAskill and Unni Krishnan of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 05/18/2014

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