Jerusalem, May 23: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday became the first world leader to congratulate his counterpart Narendra Modi for scripting an "impressive victory" in the general elections and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties.

Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.

"Sincerely greetings to you, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the elections!," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew and Hindi.

"The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," he tweeted.

Modi and Netanyahu share a good rapport.

Netanyahu visited India in January 2018 while Prime Minister Modi travelled to Tel Aviv in 2017, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to tour the Jewish state, where Netanyahu received him at the airport.

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Palamaneru (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Five members of a family from Bengaluru died on the spot after the car in which they were travelling to Tirupati rammed into a stationary truck in Chittoor district on Wednesday, a police official said.

The deceased included three women, and the accident occurred on the four-lane highway near Palamaneru at around 8.45 am on Wednesday, police said.

"Five members of a family travelling from Bengaluru to Tirupati were killed on the spot when their car rammed into a stationary truck near Palamaneru," the official told PTI.

According to police, the accident is suspected to have occurred due to overspeeding and the driver possibly feeling sleepy.

Meanwhile, relatives of the deceased have been informed and are on their way to the accident site, the official added.