Triumphant Modi stages victory march in Delhi

Modi waves as he arrives at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on May 17 ,2014. AFP

A day after leading his party to a spectacular win in India’s Lok Sabha elections, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi arrived in Delhi on Saturday and staged a victory march along the 14 km stretch from the airport to the BJP headquarters.

Thousands of people, led by BJP President Rajnath Singh, greeted Mr Modi, 63, on his arrival from Ahmedabad.

He waved to the gathered crowds before getting into his car and beginning the journey. Hundreds of people, waving BJP flags, had gathered at various points along the route, including Sardar Patel Marg, Mother Teresa Crescent, Teen Murti Marg, Janpath and Ashok Road, on the way to the BJP office.

At a few places, Mr Modi got down from his car to acknowledge the greetings of his supporters and flashed the “V” sign.

Narendra Modi speaks after arriving at party headquarters in New Delhi on May 17, 2014. - AFP

At the BJP headquarters, Mr Modi made a brief thanksgiving speech to the gathered supporters. He will attend a meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Board, its highest decision-making body, which will discuss the party’s post-poll strategy.

Later, he will drive down to the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent, at Jhandewalan here to meet its chief Mohan Bhagwat and other office-bearers before heading for Varanasi, his second constituency, where he had defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal.

He is due to offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple there and perform “Ganga Aarti” before heading back to Ahmedabad tonight. - news@khaleejtimes.com