NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won key provincial elections in three Hindi-speaking states while the opposition Indian National Congress captured the southern state of Telangana.
Five states went to the polls in November in a major political battle before next year’s national elections.
Trends from the counting of votes on Sunday showed the BJP retaining power in Madhya Pradesh and seizing the Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
The BJP led in 55 constituencies out of the 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh in central India while the Congress was ahead in 32 places.
In northern Rajasthan state’s 200-seat legislature, the BJP looked set to win about 110 seats, while the trends gave the Congress more than 70 seats.
In central Madhya Pradesh state, a Hindi-speaking stronghold of Hindu nationalists, Modi’s party could get about 160 seats in the 230-member legislature.
Winning the three Hindi region states gives the BJP more confidence to take on the newly-formed opposition alliance known as INDIA ahead of the 2024 general election due before May.
In Telangana, the Congress party trounced the regional party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The Congress was ahead in 64 seats versus 40 for the BRS in the Telugu region’s 119-seat assembly.
The trends gave six seats to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and eight to the BJP.
The small northeastern state of Mizoram also went to polls last month, but the counting of votes there was rescheduled for Monday.
Leaders of the opposition alliance will meet in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss a strategy to stop Modi from becoming prime minister for a third five-year term in 2024. – Bernama
