By 
Narendra Modi, the 63-year-old son of a tea stall merchant, takes the reins of the world's largest democracy and also the world's poorest country Monday, May 26, when he will be sworn in as India's newest prime minister.Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party scored the biggest election victory the country has seen in 30 years when he defeated the Ghandi family-led Congress Party by a resounding majority.
When the votes were counted, Modi had won 282 seats in India's 543-seat Lok Sabha, the dominant lower house of India's Parliament. Modi only needed 272 seats to rule in that body. The Congress party won 44 seats.
An estimated 550 million Indians out of a total 814 million registered voters went to the polls over a six-week, phased balloting period. India's current population is estimated at 1.2 billion.
The current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, 81, graciously resigned after Modi's triumph.
Although Modi supporters are jubilant, the new prime minister faces a daunting task as he prepares to appoint new cabinet members and address the country's economy. Growing unemployment and inflation prevail. Food prices have skyrocketed. Government corruption remains.
Modi received strong voter backing from the 20-year-old to 40-year-old group. Yet it is precisely that university-educated age group that is hurting for jobs.
The country's estimated unemployment rate ranges from about 4 percent to 13 percent and is growing, according to the most recent government data. Indians in the 15-year-old to 29-year-old group are having the most difficulty finding jobs.
About 13 million young persons enter the job market each year. India's economic growth has slowed to under 5 percent over the last two years.
Modi is not an unknown personality in India's often volatile political realm. Critics still charge that he didn't do enough to stop riots that killed an estimated 1,000 Muslims in his home state of Gujarat in 2002.
Because of those allegations, the U.S. in 2005 denied Modi a visa. But immediately after Modi's victory last week, President Barack Obama phoned Modi, congratulated him and invited him to a White House visit later this year.
Modi's victory signals the end of an era controlled since 1952 by the families of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 and became a republic in 1950.
