New Delhi, May 23: BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani issued a statement congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on the historic win in Lok Sabha elections 2019. The 91-year-old credited Modi and Shah for steering the party towards the unprecedented victory.

"Heartiest congratulations to Narendrabhai Modi for steering BJP towards this

unprecedented victory in elections. Amitbhai Shah as BJP President and all dedicated workers of the party have put in enormous effort in making sure that BJP's message reaches every voter," said the statement issued by LK Advani. Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Leads Signal Decisive Win For PM Modi, Best-Ever Single-Party Majority Mandate Since 1984

"It's such a wonderful feeling that in a country as large & diverse as India, electoral process has been so successfully completed & for that, my compliments to the electorate and all the agencies involved. May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead," he further added.

Advani, along with party veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, were dropped from the BJP list of candidates in this elections. His unceremonious exit from the polling fray, claim pollsters, had disappointed the nonagenarian leader.

From the Gandhinagar seat, which has been represented by Advani for six consecutive terms, he was replaced by Amit Shah. The latter, a multiple-times MLA from the region, has scripted a historic win from the constituency. He was leading by nearly 5.5 lakh votes against his nearest Congress riva, CP= J Chavda, by the time this report was published.

The BJP, meanwhile, has crossed the 303 seat-mark -- for the first time since its inception. The NDA tally has surged to 354, nearly 20 seats higher than the coalition drew in 2014.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2019 05:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).