Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, says PM Narendra Modi

• The incredible performance of BJP in the East underlines the spectacular performance nationally
• The verdict has upended traditional electoral metrics and handed a drubbing to rivals, including dynasts

Event risk over, but key issue aren't fading soon and markets know that

Beyond the elections, the focus now shifts to fundamental issues such as consumption slowdown, unemployment, liquidity crisis and fiscal position

How people gave a thumbs up to Modi’s politics of performance

• Voters posed trust in Modi’s leadership for his welfare schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana
• The Modi govt took a few policy missteps but came back strongly with focus on social sector schemes

Congress stares at erosion of its political credibility

• Results a poor reflection on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership capabilities and Congress’ poll strategy to take on the BJP
• Congress' campaign did not find resonance with the people and only those candidates who were strong locally, ended up winning

Modi 2.0 muscles into new territories, retains Hindi bastion

• The BJP has created history by becoming the first non-Congress government to return to power with a full majority
• The saffron party has swept the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, and also managed to secure a strong foothold in West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Maharashtra, and Karnataka

Opinion: The rise and rise of brand Modi, how winner takes all

Today Modi is unassailable. He just needs to change gears, from salesman to statesman

In Modi's victory speech, consensus, Constitution

• Modi asks party workers to maintain humility, says people have given new narrative
• Modi, in his first speech after the win, said he will not do any work with bad intent or motive

DMK tastes bittersweet win in TN as it loses its Rahul bet

Despite registering a near sweep in Tamil Nadu, DMK and Stalin’s wait for power at the centre has only got longer

New  govt has its task cut out amid turbulence in economy

Govt needs to fix slowdown in consumer demand, falling investments and slowing exports amid global trade wars

Giant killer Smriti Irani wrests Gandhi family bastion from Rahul

• In Wayanad, the second seat that he contested from, Rahul won by a margin of more than 400,000 votes
• Analysts said on Thursday her presence on the ground in Amethi did the job for her

Ten charts that explain the 2019 Lok Sabha verdict

India seems to be witnessing the rise of a new political order, with a broad-based Hindu alliance driving the growth of the Bharatiya Janata Party

Operation Bengal pays off for BJP

Riding on a latent anti-incumbency, the BJP devised a unique campaign strategy to take on Mamata Banerjee

BJP delivers on eastern promise, grows presence in Bengal, Odisha, N-E states

The numbers signify a change in the electoral politics of the east and north-east states, buoyed by the Modi wave and its agenda of Hindutva identity

Legwork, foot soldiers and focus on its social schemes behind BJP’s success

• BJP managed to build a strong organizational network, which helped it take the NDA govt’s flagship schemes to the socially, financially weaker sections
• This importance of the elections for the BJP president can be gauged from the fact that Amit Shah travelled nearly 160,000km, holding 161 public meetings, 18 road shows and more than 1,500 meetings with BJP leaders and workers

10 reasons why the BJP swept the polls

• Modi made people believe in themselves and in him
• Modi’s nationalism brought down the traditional hurdles of caste and, in some areas, religion, too

Opinion | Markets like a decisive and reformist govt

We believe that a strong government is the biggest ally for wealth creation

Sensex drop from new peak shows result high can’t last

• Before you get upset at missing the big jump, know that the immediate response of the market may not sustain
• Taking greater exposure to equity markets on the basis of election euphoria may be risky, especially if you have goals to be met in the near future

Rahul Gandhi loses family bastion Amethi, concedes defeat to BJP’s Smriti Irani

• In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, despite the party’s poor performance, Gandhi had defeated Irani on the seat with a margin of more than 1 lakh votes
• The Congress has held the seat since 1967 except in the short-lived 6th and the 12th Lok Sabha

Five economic challenges staring at Modi 2.0

• If the investment slowdown was not worrying enough, the recent consumption slump will add to the policy challenges for the new government
• The government in its full Budget which is likely to be presented in July will be tempted to breach the fiscal discipline

Opinion | For Trinamool Congress, the writing was on the wall for a long time

The seeds of religious polarization in Bengal had been laid by the TMC itself

Opinion: Congress needs to revisit strategy and organization

Congress fought with less of available strength, more of inherent weaknesses

Young and aspiring new India votes for continuity, reform and growth

Investors feel BJP coming back to power means continuity in reforms and stability, which will positively impact the economy and investment returns

Modi 2.0 seen continuing with its zero tolerance approach towards terror

• Government may focus on allocating more resources for the defence budget aiding modernization, fine-tune policies towards US, China and Pakistan
• The government was successful in rallying countries in its support to ensure Maulana Masood Azhar was declared a terrorist by the UN

Sumalatha: The woman who defeated power with grace

• Sumalatha was the underdog from Mandya, up against the might of the JD(S)
• She won the Mandya seat by defeating Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Karnataka CM, by 125,622 votes

Modi 2.0: Sensex @45,000 is Morgan Stanley’s new one-year target

• Morgan Stanley expects the RBI to be more accommodative and the economy to come out of its soft patch
• The ongoing trends suggest that there will be continuity in administration, says Morgan Stanley

Opinion | Modi’s call for a more inclusive India

The Prime Minister’s vision of an inclusive India is commendable. Let’s hope it is realized in spirit

Opinion: Economic performance, and not just promises, helped BJP sail to victory

It has been clear case of policies which balanced development with economic growth

In the leadership battle, the Modi wave sinks Rahul’s boat

• Modi’s not only won the battle but also reached popularity levels enjoyed only by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi
• Throughout the campaign, Modi, like in 2014, continued to set the agenda that the Congress chief followed and reacted to

Opinion | Narendra Modi reigns supreme. Now India's economy awaits

• The prime minister’s remarkable election victory offers a momentous chance to correct the missteps of his first term
• Investors will want to know if Modi still has an appetite for arbitrary action, such as his overnight ban on 86% of the country’s cash

Liberalization of debt financing norms: The need to evaluate investment models

• The simplified ECB regime opens new avenues for foreign investors for financing their Indian ventures
• Eligible borrowers include all entities eligible to receive FDI vis-à-vis the earlier restricted list of specified entities

Jagan Reddy storms to power in Andhra Pradesh as YSRCP decimates TDP

• YSR Congress supremo Jagan Mohan Reddy to be sworn in as the chief minister of AP on 30 May
• YSRCP wins close to 151 of the total 175 assembly seats and a whopping 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats

BJP wave blows cover off inconvenient JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka

• Election results raise a question whether the Kumaraswamy-led coalition could continue in office with such glaring differences between JD(S) and Congress that cannot be ignored any longer
• Kumaraswamy says leaders of both the parties will hold a discussion about the loss

Spectrum auction, 5G trials top Telecom Ministry agenda for new government

• The most prominent among the plans are the task of issuing 5G network trial licenses to the telcos
• Another area awaiting decisions are settling issues on merger and transfers of licenses of the mergers and acquisitions taken so far

People understood and gave the mandate: BJP's Roopa Ganguly on LS verdict

Roopa Ganguly spoke to Mint about the party’s past and future strategies

Credit view on India hinges on policies of new govt: Moody's

• Moody's expects the broad push towards fiscal consolidation to remain
• As per the trend, BJP-led NDA will form the government at the Centre for the second successive term with absolute majority

Election Results 2019: Is this the end of Lalu era?

• Lalu Prasad, RJD president and former chief minister, is now serving a jail sentence in Ranchi
• Reported infighting in his family is also adding to the wipeout of his party

Form 15H amended, senior citizens to get higher TDS exemption on interest income

• Senior citizens with a taxable income of up to ₹5 lakh can now submit in banks and post offices Form 15H to claim exemption from TDS on interest income on deposits
• Earlier, the limit for seeking TDS exemption was ₹2.5 lakh

Modi set to sweep, what does it mean for your money

• Experts suggest it is a good time bet on large-cap as segment has had a good run in last one year
• After one or two weeks, the focus will again shift from Lok Sabha elections to global issues like crude prices

Election results 2019: Many hope NDA-II to roll back LTCG tax on equity

• Sensex also hit 40,000 for the first time as the early leads suggested a clear BJP victory
• The new government should definitely work something out in terms of taxation and remove the 10% LTCG tax, says financial advisor

Tejasvi Surya: BJP’s wunderkind rides the Modi wave in Bengaluru South

• Surya stood for the seat that had been held by the late Ananth Kumar a record six times
• Surya's Brahmin roots came in handy to win a seat that had a high number of Brahmin voters

Modi web-series returns on screen, biopic to release tomorrow

• PM Narendra Modi, the biographical film on Modi starring Vivek Oberoi will release this Friday
• 'The film will directly benefit from the Modi wave in the nation and its celebratory mood right now,' says Atul Mohan

Opinion | The great electoral mandate and the wisdom of crowds

Large groups of people are often found to be collectively smarter than individuals with specialized domain knowledge

India’s metros are driving BJP’s rise to the top

BJP’s aggregate vote-share across the six biggest cities of the country has seen a sharp rise in each Lok Sabha election since 2009

Market experts sound note of caution on election euphoria

• "From here onwards focus will shift to priorities in public expenditure, and economic reforms,” said Sachin Relekar, CIO (Equities) at LIC Mutual Fund
• Some fund managers have advocated taking a long term view

Election Results 2019: Stars power in electoral box office

• Celebrities such as Hema Malini, Sunny Deol, Nusrat Jahan, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Babul Supriyo, Manoj Tiwari, Hans Raj Hans, among others, are leading in their respective constituencies
• The Narendra Modi-led BJP is set to return to power at the Centre

Gold needs a bigger trigger than trade wars to find its lost charm

• Gold has lost out to the dollar in being a safe haven. It has fallen almost 5% from its Feb high of $1,340.96/oz
• For now, despite the bleak global economic outlook, the odds don’t seem to favour the precious metal

Things to consider before investing in bonds directly

• Even after investing, keep monitoring any change in the circumstances of the issuer
• Credit rating can help evaluate risk when you invest, but subsequent deterioration may not get captured well in time

How EVM strong-rooms are secured as per the Election Commission

• In the past two days, video clips have gone viral, purportedly showing 'unauthorised' transportation of the EVMs at various places
• As per its guidelines, the EVMs are transported back to the reception centres under proper escort by a contingent of central paramilitary forces and state police

HD Deve Gowda, veteran of Karnataka politics, stares at defeat

• H.D. Deve Gowda continues to trail by nearly 18,000 votes against BJP candidate G.S. Basavaraj in Tumakuru parliamentary seat at 12.10 pm
• Gowda has served as a member of the Karnataka legislative assembly since 1962 for seven terms

Snapdeal may acquire ShopClues at a likely valuation of $250 million

• This will mark Snapdeal’s first purchase after it re-focused its business to unbranded categories
• The potential acquisition will mark further consolidation in India’s e-commerce sphere