In an election that has redefined Indian politics, the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party has become the first-ever non-Congress party to win a majority after five years in power. On its return to Luyten's Delhi, the National Democratic Alliance's principal member not only bettered its 2014 performance, but also ensured that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and several other prominent Congress leaders whose families have been in politics for generations were defeated in their respective strongholds.

So thorough was the BJP's performance that the party's only regret would be that, in its pursuit of a Congress-mukt Bharat, it could not restrict the principal opposition party to its current strength of 44 in the Lok Sabha, thanks to the latter's strategic alliance in Tamil Nadu. It couldn't also stop Rahul Gandhi from winning Wayanad with a handsome margin.