Sonia congratulated Modi: Congress

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, congratulating him on the BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said Thursday.

They said Gandhi wrote to Modi Tuesday.

Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party to an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha polls after a high-decibel battle. While the BJP won majority on its own for the first time by getting 282 seats, the Congress was restricted to 44, its lowest tally in a general election.

Sonia Gandhi and her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi had not mentioned Modi by name when they addressed the media after the results came out May 16. Sonia Gandhi then congratulated "the new government" while taking responsibility for the party's poor performance.

During the campaign, Modi had repeatedly taken digs at the Gandhis and the Congress leaders had returned fire in what was perceived to be a bitter campaign.

BJP leaders had taken exception to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi not congratulating Modi soon after the election results came out, saying that he had been felicitated by several world leaders.

Modi was Tuesday elected leader of the BJP parliamentary party. He was later appointed prime minister by President Pranab Mukherjee.