India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared an election victory for his NDA government on Thursday afternoon as trends from vote counts showed it sweeping aside rivals to build a commanding parliamentary majority.

“Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India,” Modi said in a tweet. “India wins yet again!”

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on his victory.

“Congratulations to PM Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia,” Ghani said in a tweet on Thursday afternoon.

An equally jubilant Amit Shah, the BJP president, described the win as a “victory for the whole of India”, India Today said in a report.

Both Modi and Amit Shah are on course to trounce rivals by lakhs of votes in the races they entered, in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Gandhinagar (Gujarat), respectively.

Modi’s victory message appears to be a shout-out to his May 2014 tweet, in which he said, “India has won”.

The 2014 tweet came a little earlier in the day -- shortly after noon.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition led by the BJP looks set to win a parliamentary majority in excess of 300 seats.

“Credit where credit is due,” said Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. “PM Modi Sahib and Mr. Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years,” he tweeted.

India’s seventeenth Lok Sabha election was held between April 11 and May 19 in seven phases.

Around 900 million people -- the populations of Europe and Brazil combined -- were eligible to vote in the world's largest democratic exercise.

According to India Today’s report, the turnout was around 67 percent.