The election stretched across six weeks, and was conducted in seven phases.

The Election Commission says more than 642 million Indians voted in the election and it was a mammoth exercise for election officials to pull off.

Let's take a look at some of the numbers involved...

Mayuresh Konnur
Reporting from Mumbai

One of the most exhilarating battles took place in the Mumbai North West constituency in Maharashtra state.

A candidate from the opposition, Amol Kirtikar, was initially declared a winner by a margin of 2,000 votes.

But his opponent from the governing coalition, Ravindra Waikar, demanded a recounting of votes, and was found to be the winner - by a margin of just 48 votes.

It didn't end there.

Kirtikar demanded a third round of recounting, and was declared a winner by one vote.

But then Waikar, insisted on the votes being counted again, and was once again found to be the winner by 48 votes.

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Delhi

If you had to describe the Indian general election in one word, it would be: mammoth.

To recap, let's look at some of the numbers that made headlines as the world's most populous country voted.

The Election Commission says nearly 642 million actually voted, nearly half of them were women.

But some 969 million citizens were eligible to vote this year in the world’s largest democratic exercise ever.

To give you an idea of how huge that number is, let’s add together the populations of the US, Russia, Japan, the UK, Brazil and France - and since we are still a bit short, let's also throw in Belgium.

Image source, Reuters

Some international reaction now, as Narendra Modi looks set to retain power but with a surprisingly slim majority.

The United States says it expects "a continued close partnership" between the two countries.

"There is a great partnership - both at the government level and at the people-to-people level - and I fully expect that to continue," a State Department spokesperson told reporters.

But Washington also said it would continue raising human rights concerns.

"When we have concerns about human rights, as we have in India, we express those openly. We express them directly to the government of India. We have done that and we'll continue to do it," the spokesman said.

Japan congratulated Modi's alliance on "their declaration of victory".

"India is an important partner for the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific," a government spokesman said.

Modi’s BJP has been a dominant force in Indian politics for a decade.

But the prediction-defying election results on Tuesday have jolted the party.

The BJP has lost its outright majority for the first time in a decade, forcing it to rely on regional allies to form a government.

So what went wrong? We might have some answers:

If you're just joining us, here's what's happened so far and what to expect today:

• Modi's BJP-led alliance declared victory on Tuesday night even as the party failed to reach the majority mark of 272 on its own
• Election Commission data shows the BJP won 240 seats, down from 303 in 2019

• But the BJP-led NDA alliance, with the support of key allies TDP and JDU, has won 293 seats
• Both allies have reiterated support for the party but regional parties have the reputation of springing surprises
• The opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Congress party, has won 232 seats, defying several exit poll predictions and it is celebrating its resurgence
• Senior leaders from opposition parties are in Delhi today to attend the bloc's meeting. They are yet to accept defeat or announce their next moves

Now let's look at the final figures from the election.

They show Narendra Modi’s BJP and its allies - the National Democratic Alliance - won 293 seats. This was well below what they had expected.

The opposition bloc, led by the Congress party, won 232. A party or a coalition needs 272 to form a government.

But Congress has not conceded defeat. They will hold a meeting of their bloc later today.

Image source, EPA

PM Narendra Modi addressed his supporters on Tuesday, saying: "Today's victory is the biggest in the world".

He described it as a "victory for the Indians".

He vowed to not stop until poverty is "out of the country".

He also vowed to eradicate corruption and to bring about "green industrialisation".

Modi ended by shouting "long live mother India!"

Image source, EPA

Good morning from London as we resume our live coverage of the Indian election.

Official results show an alliance led by PM Narendra Modi has won enough seats to form the next government.

But his BJP party has failed to secure a majority on its own, winning far fewer seats than at the previous election.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest from India.

We're going to be pausing our live page coverage now.

In case you missed any of today's coverage, you can read our piece from India correspondent Soutik Biswas here.

The page was produced by Geeta Pandey & Vikas Pandey, and written in Delhi by Zoya Mateen, Meryl Sebastian, Soutik Biswas and Cherylann Mollan. Videos were produced by Nikita Mandhani, Christian Parkinson and Danish Alam.

London writers were Thomas Mackintosh, Seher Asaf and Anna Lamche.

The page was edited by Sharanya Hrishikesh and James Gregory in London.

Image source, Reuters

Here's a look back at some of the today's key events:

• An alliance of parties led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the 272-seat threshold needed to form a government.
• But Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party has lost its outright parliamentary majority, and is projected to end the election with 240 out of 543 seats - much lower than the 400-seat target he set himself during the election campaign

• Modi earlier claimed victory for the NDA group in a speech at the BJP Headquarters in Delhi
• In his speech, he told voters he would "do everything" to eradicate corruption "from the very root" in his third term

• The opposition coalition, INDIA, has performed far better than expected, securing 193 seats so far across the country - with a particularly strong showing in the south

• The Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi, widely viewed as Modi’s main rival, said the results signalled a rejection of Modi’s plans to alter the constitution

• Opposition figures had complained of an uneven playing field during the election period, with some leaders arrested and certain parties claiming their bank accounts had been frozen.

The time is coming up to 23:30 in India (18:00 GMT). Prime Minister Modi's alliance has met the 272-seat threshold needed to form a government.

Before we pause our live coverage, let's have a closer look at how the parties in each alliance have done:

According to India's Electoral Commission, these are the total figures for the NDA (excluding seats they are leading in) as of 23:20 (17:50 GMT):

BJP - 228

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) - 12

Janata Dal (United) - 12

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) - 5

Janata Dal (Secular) - 12

Image source, Reuters

And here is the latest data showing the opposition INDIA alliance:

Congress - 88

Samajwadi Party - 36

Trinamool Congress - 29

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - 15

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) - 7

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) - 5

Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) - 4

Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) - 4

According to the Election Commission website, the ruling NDA alliance headed up by Modi's BJP has currently won 274 seats – taking them over the number they need to form a government.

The BJP has 226 confirmed seats on its own.

The opposition INDIA alliance have 193 seats.

Let's bring you some comments from earlier in the day - just before Narendra Modi took to the stage to claim victory for his alliance in the general election.

BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi told the BBC what she thought of the election results so far - and she was less positive than Modi's assessment.

"There could be various factors," Ilmi said. "But you know, BJP is very responsible, whatever we get in terms of verdict, we accept it.

"We never blame the EVMs [the voting machines] we never blame the election commission, as other parties do.

"And we take it fair and square, we never suspect foul play, and we will look into the reasons as to why we did badly, because there is indeed some disconcerting news from certain quarters."

Let's bring you some reaction to today's results from the Congress party, the largest opposition party in the INDIA alliance.

The BBC's Yogita Limaye was at the Congress party headquarters earlier today to attend their press conference.

She explores some of the key points from the meeting:

Some more election results now.

Earlier, Popular Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was confirmed to have won his Thiruvananthapuram seat, in the southern state of Kerala, for a third consecutive time.

Mr Tharoor was in a close fight with BJP’s federal minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar before he took the lead and won by a margin of just over 16,000 votes.

Image source, Reuters

We've just been hearing from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been addressing supporters at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

In his speech, he:

• Claimed victory for his alliance, the NDA, who he says will form a government
• Said the number of votes for the BJP doubled in some areas, including in Delhi
• Spoke about the Covid-19 pandemic, taking credit for supporting Indians throughout this period
• Led the crowd the crowd in a chant of "Long live Mother India", thanking supporters for their blessings

• Promised to "do everything" to eradicate corruption "from the very root" in his third term
• Said he would support the defence sector, young people and farmers

"We have to take a lot of decisions for the future of India," Modi says, adding: "This relationship of trust is a big strength of the democracy."

Modi ends his speech by thanking voters, who he says have given his alliance the chance to serve India for a third time.

Claiming victory for the NDA, he says he is "very grateful" to his fellow countrymen.

Finally, he shouts "long live mother India" - the chant he started his address with.

A significant theme of Modi's speech is how the country fared during the pandemic, taking credit for supporting Indians throughout this period.

The prime minister also names some of the industries and groups of people he hopes to support in future - including in the defence sector, young people and farmers.

He pledges to bring about a "green industrialisation", and declares the country is entering a "green era".

Corruption is another core theme for Modi. He acknowledges it is difficult to eradicate, but promises to "do everything" to get rid of it "from the very root" in his third term.