Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to be magnanimous in the moment of his momentous victory on Thursday, promising to leave behind the acrimony of the poll campaign and run the country with “sarwamat” (consensus) despite the big “bahumat” (majority).

Modi stressed that the verdict in the Lok Sabha elections had marked the dawn of a “New India”.

There was one key message in his long victory speech amidst frantic chants of “Modi, Modi” at the party headquarters — a virtual celebration of how his last five years had demolished the “mask of secularism”.

Underlining the highlights of the “historic” 2019 general election, Modi pointed out how “no party dared to wear the mask of secularism and mislead the people” this time.

He stressed how people had used the tag of secularism to indulge in evil acts. “It was used like Gangajal to wash all your sins,” Modi said, adding how it stood demolished after 2014.

Apart from this jarring note, Modi promised that the Constitution, which in its Preamble says that India is a secular nation, would be the guiding principle of his government. He promised to take the Opposition along in “desh heet” (the country’s interest) despite the big victory.

“Governments are elected by majority but the country is run by consensus. Today, I say we will work with everyone, regardless of what was said during the campaign. We want to instill an inclusive growth, which requires consensus,” Modi said.

For some time, Modi turned his victory speech into an address to the nation. “My dear countrymen…,” he said and thanked the people for reposing faith in him with a bigger mandate than 2014. He assured the people of respecting the mandate by making three promises, sounding humbled and striking an emotional chord in his hour of extraordinary victory.

“I promise not to act out of malice or ill intention,” the Prime Minister said. “I may commit a mistake, for which you can criticise me, but let me say that I will always endeavour to follow what I say in public,” he added.

Modi’s second promise was linked to what has been one of the biggest issues working in his favour in the poll arena. “I will never do anything for myself,” he said.

“Every pore, every cell in my body will work non-stop for this country and its people,” he said, making his third promise. He said the people of the country should “evaluate him on these three counts”.

Weaving socialism into his narrative, the Prime Minister said the poll results had thrown up only two castes: “One, the poor and the other those who want to help the poor come out of poverty.”

Modi said the mandate was the biggest development in the democratic world and the entire world had taken note of India’s democracy. He promised to remain humble and urged his partymen to do the same.