Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah: Mehbooba Mufti congratulates PM Modi on Lok Sabha poll victory

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti congratulated PM Modi for a land slide victory. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.

Taking to micro-blogging website Twitter, Mehbooba wrote, “Congratulations to Narendra Modi ji for a historic mandate. Today surely belongs to BJP and its allies. Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah.”

“I’ve been fortunate to get the love & affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings. Accept their verdict with humility. Congratulations to winning candidates from NC. I’m grateful to my party workers & colleagues (sic),” she tweeted.

If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014.

Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level. The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi—Many Congratulations for securing such a big victory for the BJP. I am thankful to the people,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.