Since the last general election in 2009, the anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare, and other similar moves by Baba Ramdev and Arvind Kejriwal (founder of Aam Aadmi Party), gathered momentum and political interest.

Singh conducted sensitisation workshops for election officers and helped in setting up a registration link for voters with disabilities to register to vote and provide their requirements.

[22] constituencies Important issues during the campaign included high inflation, lack of jobs, economic slow down, corruption, security and terrorism, religious division and communalism, and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water.

It wanted to encourage labour-intensive manufacturing, focus on traditional employment bases of agriculture, the upgrade of infrastructure and housing and self-employment opportunities for job creation.

[60] Modi also criticised the INC and Rahul Gandhi for giving a ticket to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan despite his indictment in the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai.

[62] At a rally in Gurgaon, Haryana, part of the wider National Capital Region, Modi said: "People gave ruling Congress 60 years, I just need 60 months to prove that the BJP is the best option for India" and alleged that the INC was protecting Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, after he was said to have "sold farmers land" and made money.

[63] He also criticised the INC's Nandan Nilekani as he had "squandered crores of rupees in giving a unique identity (Aadhaar) to millions of people, which even the Supreme Court questioned, as it did not address the security concerns".

[66] By the last day of campaigning on 10 May, Narendra Modi had undertaken the largest mass outreach in India's electoral history by travelling about 300,000 km for 437 public meetings in 25 states and 1350 innovative 3D rallies according to the BJP.

[70] Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan announced on 30 January that the LJP, RJD and INC will jointly contest the election from Bihar's constituencies.

[102] The INC was reported to be concerned by the possibility of a reduced mandate in Gandhi's seat of Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency) amidst an unusual challenge by his high-profile competitor, the BJP's Smriti Irani.

[104] In its manifesto the party promised "inclusive growth" and that it would initiate a raft of welfare schemes, including a right to healthcare for all and pensions for the aged and disabled.

[81][112][113] Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav said of the BJP's ruling chances that "Modi and Advani can never become the prime minister in their lifetime.

[137] The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) opted not to join any alliance and contested all seats in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry on its own.

In saying so, she criticised the UPA's governance, including its economic, diplomatic, and defence policies, adding that the modernization of the armed forces was hindered by the steady curtailment of its funding.

On 21 March, the All India Forward Bloc released its first list of candidates that covered 38 seats in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi.

Reddy - Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh (from 2014 onwards) Guahati Mothilal - Bhongir The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) announced its first list of seven candidates.

[213] West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nearly cancelled the polls in her region after initially refusing to changes to the appointments of civil service departments, but was forced to constitutionally do so.

[223][227] One of six constituencies from Jammu and Kashmir, Anantnag, had the lowest turnout of 28%, after a boycott call by separatists,[228] an attack on 22 April that killed three people,[229] and with thousands of Kashmiri Pandits protesting in the afternoon that their names were missing from the electoral roll.

[251][252][253][254] The Left parties and BJP alleged mass rigging and booth capturing by Trinamool Congress at thousands of polling stations in West Bengal.

Analyst Saeed Naqvi believes that Amit Shah managed to convince Dalits and OBC voters to elect the BJP as "Muslim appeasers in an atmosphere of perpetual communal tension".

[283] The assembly segment-wise result of Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh shows that the BJP was number one in 328 seats, while the ruling SP led in just 42.

The benchmark BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty indices hit record highs and the Indian rupee strengthened following months of poor performance.

[297] Analysts suggested a high turnout would favour the BJP as it indicates an increase in participation of urban voters who are the party's traditional vote bank.

Outgoing Finance Minister P. Chidambaram criticised the style of functioning and work culture at the Congress headquarters for the loss, and suggested adopting a more corporate approach.

"[305] DNA described the accusations against Mossad, RSS and Dentsu as "bizarre theories", and noted that "everyone except vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been held responsible for their crushing defeat.

"[306][307] Although this statement received support from several Congress members, Deora clarified on Twitter, "My comments are out of emotions of deep loyalty to the party, pain of our performance & a sincere desire to see us bounce back.

Several Bollywood celebrities including Subhash Ghai, Vishal Dadalani, Lata Mangeshkar, Ranvir Shorey, Vivek Oberoi, Baba Sehgal, Shekhar Kapur, Arshad Warsi, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Sangeeth Sivan, Kabir Bedi, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar, Atul Kasbekar and Pritish Nandy tweeted congratulations to Modi and the BJP for their victory.

He also added that he was looking forward to returning to India soon and "echo President Obama's invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit the United States at the earliest opportunity."

"[355] Bloomberg Businessweek wrote of the election that the "process is awesome in its complexity, and the campaigns have given rise to robust debate...But here's something else not to miss: It's all pretty damn colorful."

The paper also argued that "western rhetoric" which stated that both countries were "destined to stand against each other" had been proven wrong by the fact that India and China had "by and large, managed their differences well over the decades".