He goes on to talk about the election, in which he says the opposition party could not win as many seats as the BJP.

He says the government is committed in each and every region, adding that his party has taken people out of poverty in the last 10 years.

"We won't stop until poverty will be out of the country", he says, vowing to give women further opportunities.

He talks of further successes he claims his party has achieved, including making India the second largest mobile manufacturer.

Modi moves on to talk about what he cites as his successes in government.

He talks of how banking was reformed and how his party helped India during the coronavirus pandemic a few years ago.

"The country was in quite a bad state," he says gesturing to the crowd.

Modi adds his party took "steps without pressure" and as a result India is "the biggest and fastest growing economy" in the world.

Modi says he "salutes" the people of India, adding that he bows down before them.

He then goes on to say that his is the first election since the death of his mother.

But, he says, he has been surrounded by "love" and many women have given him their blessings as he has travelled around the country.

Modi says since 1962, no government has won a third term, to which the crown begins to clap and chants his name.

He says that the number of votes for his party has doubled in some areas, including in Delhi, where he says the BJP has achieved a “clean sweep”.

Modi goes on to say that his party also won a seat in Kerala, where workers have made “a lot of sacrifices for generations”.

He says 10 years ago, the country was experiencing a "deep loss" with newspaper headlines dominated by the challenges the country was facing, but adds that his party has turned things around.

Modi heaps more praise on India's election process.

"Every Indian feels proud because of it," Modi continues, describing Indian democracy as an example of "credibility" and "efficiency".

"I will say to every voter of the country on this moment of victory, I want to to bow down and salute them," Modi adds

Modi says he wants to "give greetings" to all candidates in the election.

Prime Minister Modi says his alliance, the NDA, "continues her time" and will form a government.

"Today's victory is the biggest in the world," he says, describing it as as "victory for the Indians".

He thanks the election committee for its work, especially in the "extreme hot weather".

"They have done it with so much skill... there were so many polling stations", he says, adding that every worker has "done their duty and they have fulfilled their responsibility".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now speaking at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

He begins by leading the crowd in a chant of "Long live Mother India", and thanks his supporters for their "blessings".

"From my heart, I am very, very happy today," he says.

Image source, Reuters

We are still waiting to hear from Modi at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, so let's just bring you some developing news in this election.

According to election commission figures, Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh looks to have won election to India's parliament by a margin of nearly 200,000 votes while contesting the poll from behind bars.

The 31-year-old was arrested last April after a month-long police manhunt and remains in the high-security Dibrugarh jail in Assam state after advocating the creation of a separate Sikh homeland in Indian territory.

Image source, Reuters

Confetti fills the air as Narendra Modi makes his way to the stage waving at the crowd of people - many of whom are waving back at him with smart phones and flags.

The crowd can also be heard chanting Modi's name.

We'll bring you what he says as he makes his address.

While we wait for Modi to speak, let's bring you some more election results.

In Gandhi family bastion Amethi, Congress candidate and Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal has defeated his opponent and BJP minister Smriti Irani by a margin of 167,000 votes.

In 2019, Ms Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the seat by 55,000 votes. Mr Gandhi had previously won three times from the seat since his political debut in 2004.

The defeat comes as a setback to the BJP, which has failed to meet the 272 mark to form the government independently.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Let's quickly bring you up to speed with some of the key moments so far as millions of votes continue to be counted:

• Early results from India's general election suggest incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on track to win a rare third term in office
• But they also suggest Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party has fallen short of the 272 seats needed for a majority on its own and will need members of its alliance to form a government

• Modi’s main rival, the Indian National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, created a coalition with dozens of other political parties to mount a challenge to Modi’s seemingly enduring popularity
• The BJP and its allies are ahead in more than 290 seats
• The opposition, led by the Congress Party, is doing better than expected with leads in more than 230 seats
• Modi won his seat in the city of Varanasi by a comfortable margin - though lower than expected
• Gandhi has also been re-elected as an MP

For a more detailed explainer on the Indian election click here.

In just over 10 minutes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

We'll be bringing you all of the key lines from his speech as we get them.

In his first comments since counting of votes began in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanks his "supporters and party workers" saying "words will never do justice to their exceptional efforts".

"People have placed their faith in NDA [the alliance led by his BJP] for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history," he posts on X, formerly Twitter.

Modi is due to address the nation at 20:00 India time (14:30GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

Two key allies of the BJP - the TDP and the JD(U) - have told Reuters that they will stand by the party.

Both parties also said they supported Mr Modi as the alliance's prime minister face.

Trends show Mr Modi's party is far from the 272-mark to form a majority government though it will emerge as the single largest party.

TDP, from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and JD(U), from the eastern state of Bihar, together are leading in around 28 seats."TDP has a pre-poll alliance with NDA and it will continue, no doubt about that," party lawmaker K Ravindra Kumar told Reuters.

JD(U) spokesperson Abhishek Jha said, "We are formally with this NDA alliance and will participate in making the government."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has done well in both of his constituencies - Wayanad in the south and Rae Bareli in the north.

In Wayanad, which has been a Congress bastion since 2009, Mr Gandhi has won by a margin of over 364,000 votes.

Though the results have not been called in Rae Bareli yet, trends show that Mr Gandhi has bagged more than 600,000 votes and is well ahead of his opponent from the BJP, who is trailing by 390,000 votes.

At a press conference in Delhi, reporters congratulated Mr Gandhi for "winning both the constituencies" and asked him which one he was going to keep from the two.

Mr Gandhi thanked his supporters for voting for him but said that he had not yet made up his mind about the constituency he was going to represent in parliament.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Mr Modi’s BJP, a dominant force in Indian politics for a decade, was expected to maintain its grip. But Tuesday's trends have jolted the party, forcing it to rely on allies to form a government.

Analysts attribute this to rising prices, joblessness, a controversial army recruitment reform and Mr Modi's aggressive and divisive campaign, which may have alienated voters in parts of the country.

These concerns were evident in credible pre-poll surveys.

Modi's ambitious slogan "Ab ki baar, 400 paar," aiming for over 400 seats for his NDA alliance, may also have backfired, raising fears of constitutional changes with such a massive majority.

The unexpected resurgence of the Congress party, nearly doubling its 2019 tally and leading in at least 97 seats, underscores this shift.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, Congress

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi did not outright reject the possibility of his INDIA alliance forming a government.

When a reporter asked him the question, he deflected it by saying that the bloc would meet tomorrow and discuss it.

This has made the results more interesting.

Two of the BJP's allies - the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party - are leading in close to 30 seats. The BJP - which seems to have been restricted to around 240 seats - needs them to reach 272 seats to be in power.

But both the TDP and the JDU are former Congress partners, and Mr Gandhi did not rule out the possibility of holding talks with them.

Next is the BJP’s press conference and that might give us more clues on who might form the government.

Stay tuned.

Speaking after Mr Kharge, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress leaders would meet their alliance partners on Wednesday to decide how they want to proceed.

According to trends, the BJP is unlikely to meet the halfway mark of 272 seats, which means that it cannot form the government on its own and will have to depend on its allies for support.

The opposition INDIA alliance, of which the Congress is a member, is leading in 234 seats so far - much higher than what exit polls predicted.

Mr Gandhi thanked voters for supporting the party and said that the opposition's fight was not just against the BJP, "but to save the country's constitution, which the BJP government had tried to destroy".

"The country has unanimously told Narendra Modi and Amit Shah that we don't want you running this country," Mr Gandhi said.

He attributed the performance of the party to its co-operation with its alliance partners and the hard work of party workers.

"The Congress stands with you, we will fulfil all our promises," Mr Gandhi said.

We are now hearing from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.

He starts his speech by thanking the public for putting their faith in the party after the opposition INDIA bloc, of which the Congress is a member, performed far better than expected.

"This is not just our but the people's victory. It's a win for democracy," he says.

Mr Kharge adds that the people of India have chosen to vote against Mr Modi and calls the results, which are still coming in, "his moral and political defeat".

"We focused our fight on the unemployed, the farmers and the poor of this country - and that's what paid us dividends," he says.

"The BJP, meanwhile, spread lies and hatred, running a vicious campaign. And people have rejected that."

Pinaki Chakraborty
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, Getty Images

North-eastern India, which has 25 parliamentary seats spread across eight states, was meant to be a cakewalk for the ruling BJP and its allies.

But, if the current trends are anything to go by, it is the Congress party which is regaining its foothold in some of the states.

It seems poised to send one MP from Nagaland and two from Manipur to the parliament.

Manipur, which has been at the centre of ethnic violence, has voted overwhelmingly in the opposition party's favour.

Assam, the largest state in the region, has been a stronghold for the BJP. The party is leading in nine of 14 seats in the state. Current chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had expressed confidence about winning most seats in the state prior to polls.

The Congress has equalled its 2019 tally of three seats in Assam.