Top news of the day: NDA sweeps Lok Sabha polls with massive majority; YSR Congress wins Assembly, parliamentary polls in A.P. and more

Here are the important news stories of the day

NDA sweeps polls with massive majority

Heading towards a grand finale, the BJP, on Thursday, is poised to return to become the second political party in the Indian history to come back to power, even stronger this time.

Palaniswami govt gets numbers in Assembly; DMK-front sweeps Lok Sabha polls

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu seemed to be on course to win a comfortable number of seats from the 22 Assembly segments where bypolls were held, signalling that K. Palaniswami can breathe easy and continue in the saddle for another two years.

PM Modi congratulates Naveen Patnaik for retaining Odisha

The BJD on Thursday looked set to form its government for a fifth straight term negating a Modi wave that is sweeping the country, with its candidates leading in 115 of the State’s 146 seats.

Naidu quits as A.P. CM, Jagan steers party to landslide victory

N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has a few records, including being the longest serving Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh, finds himself at the crossroads as his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) faced a rout in the Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls, dashing his hopes of emerging kingmaker at the national level.

In Arunachal, BJP wins 7 Assembly seats, leads in both LS seats

The ruling BJP in Arunachal Pradesh won seven Assembly seats and is leading in 11 constituencies, election officials said on Thursday. It is also leading in the two Lok sabha seats from the State.

In Sikkim, SKM wins 7 seats

The Opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won seven Assembly seats and is leading in four constituencies while the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front won three and is ahead in six, election officials said on May 23. Sikkim has 32 Assembly seats.

Reactions: Political leaders, celebrities congratulate Modi

By the afternoon on May 23, when it became clear that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would retain power at the Centre, reactions came in from across party lines and celebrities congratulating PM Narendra Modi and his party.

Reactions: Jinping, Putin, Netanyahu congratulate Narendra Modi

The leaders of China and Russia were among the earliest to congratulate Narendra Modi on Thursday, the day the results of the 17th Lok Sabha elections were declared.

Political violence played key role in deciding electoral outcome in North Malabar

 The issue of political violence is a major factor that played a decisive role in shaping the electoral outcome in the Parliamentary constituencies in North Malabar region as it was the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) key campaign theme in the aftermath of the twin murders of Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sharath Lal at Kalloytt in Kasaragod in February.

Feel like a batsman who has scored a century while his team has lost: Tharoor

Set for a win from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to thank his supporters. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Mr. Tharoor dedicated his win to Congress workers, volunteers and the people of Thiruvananthapuram "for reposing faith" in him.

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