Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed victory for his alliance in India's general election.
It came despite a lacklustre performance from his own party that faced a stronger-than-expected challenge from the opposition.
Mr Modi told a crowd at his party's headquarters that his National Democratic Alliance would form government for the third consecutive time, saying Indian voters had "shown immense faith" in bothhis party and the coalition alliance.
"Today's victory is the victory of the world's largest democracy," he said.
For the first time since Mr Modi'sBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014, it appeared unlikely it would secure a majority on its own.
He pledged to make good on his election promise to grow India's economy and not shirk from pushing forward with his agenda.
He said he would advance India's defence production, boost jobs for young people, raise exports and help farmers, among other things.
"This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi's guarantee," Mr Modi said, speaking in the third person.
Some 12 hours into the vote counting, partial tallies reported by India's Election Commission showed the BJP was ahead in 114 constituencies and had won 126 of 543 parliamentary seats.
The Congress Party led in 45 constituencies and won 54.
A total of 272 seats are needed for a majority.
In 2019, the BJP won 303 seats. It secured 282 in 2014 when Mr Modi first came to power.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance led in 147 constituencies and won 139, according to the partial count.
The Congress Party is part of the INDIA alliance, which led in 131 constituencies and had won 99.
The election commission does not release data on the percentage of votes tallied.
Pre-election surveys and exit polls had projected the NDA would get between 353-401 seats.
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The BJP has seen unexpected losses in the country's most populous and politically significant state — Uttar Pradesh.
It is a hit to the BJP's majority and seen by the opposition as a repudiation of the party's Hindu nationalist politics.
Narendra Modi will become only the second prime minister in India's history to win a third term.
Two key members of Narendra Modi's alliance have already endorsed him as India's next prime minister.
Spokespersons from both the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United) parties told Reuters on Tuesday local time that their alliance with Mr Modi's BJP would form a government.
Final results are expected on Wednesday.
'A moral defeat'
Leader of the opposition INDIA alliance and Centrist Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, said the election sent a clear message.
"The country has unanimously and clearly stated, we do not want Narendra Modi and [Indian Home Minister] Amit Shah to be involved in the running of this country, we do not like the way they have run this country," Mr Gandhi told reporters.
"That is a huge message."
Celebrations had already begun at the headquarters of Mr Modi's BJP before the full announcement of results.
But the mood at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi was also one of jubilation, according to Congress politician Rajeev Shukla.
"BJP has failed to win a big majority on its own," he told reporters.
"It's a moral defeat for them."
Jailed MP vows to keep fighting
Stocks slumped on speculation the reduced majority would hamper the BJP's ability to push through reforms.
Narendra Modi's opponents have struggled to counter the BJP's well-oiled and well-funded campaign juggernaut, and have been hamstrung by what they say are politically motivated criminal cases aimed at hobbling challengers.
US think-tank Freedom House said this year that the BJP had "increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents".
Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and a key leader in an alliance formed to compete against India's incumbent prime minister, returned to jail on Sunday.
Mr Kejriwal, 55, was detained in March over a long-running corruption probe, but was later released and allowed to campaign as long as he returned to custody once voting ended.
"When power becomes dictatorship, then jail becomes a responsibility," Mr Kejriwal said before surrendering himself.
He vowed to continue "fighting" from behind bars.
Many of India's Muslim minority are increasingly uneasy about their futures and their community's place in the constitutionally secular country.
Mr Modi himself made several strident comments about Muslims on the campaign trail, referring to them as "infiltrators".
The polls were staggering in their size and logistical complexity, with 642 million voters casting their ballots — ranging from megacities New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as in sparsely populated forest areas and the high-altitude Himalayas.
Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumarcalled the counting process "robust".
"People should know about the strength of Indian democracy," he said Monday local time.
Based on the commission's figure of an electorate of 968 million, turnout came to 66.3 per cent, down roughly one percentage point from 67.4 per cent in the last polls in 2019.
Analysts have partly blamed the lower turnout on a searing heatwave across northern India, with temperatures over 45 degrees Celsius.
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