Exit Polls Predict Striking Scale of Defeat For Congress

New Delhi: Buoyed by exit polls, the BJP said on Tuesday that it is  headed for a decisive majority. All forecasts so far show the BJP and its allies trouncing the Congress which has been in power for a decade, and most indicated they would seal a narrow majority. (Narendra Modi-led BJP Set For Victory, Exit Polls Show)

Results are due on Friday, with some still cautioning against over-confidence in a BJP victory given notorious forecasting errors at the last two general elections.

While a sweep by the BJP had been expected, the predicted scale of defeat for  the Congress is  still striking, with exit polls showing support for the party, which has ruled India for most of the post-independence era, at a historic low. (How the Numbers Stack Up)

Party leaders have dismissed the surveys and remain defiant in public, insisting that Friday's results will surprise the pollsters and hand the Congress-led alliance a third term in power.
They have begun rallying around Rahul Gandhi, the latest generation of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, who has led his first national election campaign -- widely panned as lacklustre and uninspiring. (Congress Distances Rahul Gandhi From Potential Poll Debacle)

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Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said party president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul's mother, as well as local Congress leaders had fought the election together and shared the responsibility for the outcome."It is all collective," he said.

Stock markets surged to record highs on hopes of a business-friendly government under Narendra Modi, while US President Barack Obama said he looked forward to working with the new administration in New Delhi. (Also read: New Government Set to Inherit Wobbly Economy)

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Mr Modi, who is serving his fourth term as chief minister of Gujarat, was in his home state today- he held a meeting with bureaucrats to signal business-as-usual, but senior BJP figures struck a bullish note by predicting the opposition will win more than 300 of the 543 seats in parliament. (Opinion: Exit Polls Prove the Modi Increment)

Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar predicted that the BJP-led alliance would get more than 300, echoing Modi's chief lieutenant Amit Shah. "My personal view is that we will get around 300 seats," Shah said.

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"We will still be open to support and collaboration from any party that wants to work with a government that is committed to work for the nation," he told a news channel.

Reacting to the end of five weeks of voting that saw a record turnout of 55.1 crore people, Obama said India had "set an example for the world".

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"We look forward to the formation of a new government once election results are announced and to working closely with India's next administration to make the coming years equally transformative," he added. (Barack Obama Looking Forward to Work With New Indian Government)

The US has refused Mr Modi  a visa since 2005 under the terms of a 1998 law which bars entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."
After Mr Modi took over as Chief Minister of Gujarat, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in communal riots in 2002, which critics say he did did little to stop, but a Supreme Court-appointed investigation team has cleared him of any wrongdoing.

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Washington only ended its boycott of Modi in February when Nancy Powell, the outgoing US ambassador to India, met him for talks in Gujarat. (Modi Would Enjoy Diplomatic Immunity If He Becomes PM: US Congressional Report)

Mr Modi has largely steered clear of Hindu nationalist rhetoric on the campaign trail, promising to concentrate on development by rolling out the red carpet to companies and restore badly battered business confidence.