NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailed in two provincial elections as votes were counted on Tuesday (Oct 8), TV channels said, a fresh setback after it failed to win a clear majority in the general election this year.
Elections in the northern state of Haryana and the troubled Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir were held in phases that ended on Saturday, the first test of popularity since Modi returned as prime minister for a record third, straight term in June, albeit with the help of regional parties.
Losing Haryana and not winning power in Jammu and Kashmir is not expected to impact the Modi government’s ability to make federal policies but will be seen as dampeners for BJP ahead of elections in the more politically crucial states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Exit polls had predicted a win for the main opposition Congress party in Haryana and gave an edge to Congress and its regional ally National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
The counting showed BJP was leading in 22 seats in Haryana, where it has held power for a decade, while Congress was ahead in 57 seats, TV channel CNN-News18 reported.
In Jammu and Kashmir, it said BJP was leading in 29 seats while the Congress-NC alliance was ahead in 44 seats in the first provincial poll there in a decade, and the first since the state was split into two federally administered territories in 2019.
Both legislatures have 90 seats each.
The industrial hub of Maharashtra is presently ruled by a BJP coalition, and an opposition alliance is in power in mineral-rich Jharkhand.
Elections in both states, although yet to be announced, are expected to be held in November.
Victory for Congress in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will come as a major boost for its leader, Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that gave India three prime ministers but who was blamed for the party’s slump since Modi swept to power in 2014.
Gandhi was also the face of the two-dozen party opposition alliance that denied Modi an outright majority in the parliamentary election and is currently the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament.
