DHAKA: Narendra Modi called for unity in India as exit polls signalled his opposition bloc would win a majority in national elections, boosting his chances of taking power in Asia's third-largest economy.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will win 249 to 340 seats, according to six exit polls released on Monday, with 272 needed for a majority.

The Congress party and its allies, in power for the past decade, are projected to win 70 to 148 seats. Results will be announced on May 16.

‘Let’s place people over politics, hope over despair, healing over hurting, inclusion over exclusion and development over divisiveness,’ Modi, 63, said in a statement sent by the BJP on Monday night.

‘It is natural for the spirit of bi-partisanship to get temporarily lost in the midst of an election campaign, but now is the time to regain it.’

The exit polls, which have overestimated the BJP’s strength in the past two national elections, boosted Indian stocks and the rupee as investors bet Modi will turn around an economy with Asia’s second-fastest inflation, Bloomberg reported, says The Straits Times.

BDST: 1458 HRS, MAY 13, 2014