Kerala as dear to me as Varanasi, says Modi in Guruvayur; thanks electorate

The country has seen that "people are God" in elections, he said

Having won a massive mandate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said political parties and pundits failed to gauge the public mood ahead of the Lok Sabha election and thanked the electorate for reposing confidence in the saffron party.

In his first public engagement after leading the BJP to a grand victory in the general election, retaining power for a successive term, Modi said he made Kerala his first stop after the win despite having no MP from the state since it was as dear to him as his constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Terming the just concluded Lok Sabha election