BJP supporters on the streets of New Delhi said that their party has won the maximum number of seats and celebrated the victory.
“We are very happy with the results,” said Archana Sharma, a 36-year-old office worker.
He said he was “looking forward to supporting Modi and the BJP in the future too.”
Govind Singh, a 38-year-old ophthalmologist, said “it is essential to have a strong opposition” but added that it was better to have a government with a parliamentary majority.
The BJP won 240 seats in Parliament, much less than the 303 seats it won five years ago and 32 seats short of a majority.
The main opposition party Congress staged a remarkable turnaround, winning 99 seats, almost double its 2019 tally of 52.
“The country has told Narendra Modi that 'we don't want you',” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters after the results were announced, adding that people had given the “right answer”.
The two major parties, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal United (JDU), with a total of 28 seats, have said they support the Modi alliance.
Commentators and exit polls had predicted a landslide victory for Modi, who critics accuse of jailing opposition leaders and crushing the rights of India's more than 200 million Muslim community.