Indian PM Modi's BJP loses key state elections

Published December 12, 2018
BJP suffers embarrassing defeat in three state elections in its stronghold just months before national elections. — AFP
BJP suffers embarrassing defeat in three state elections in its stronghold just months before national elections. — AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered an embarrassing defeat in three state elections in its stronghold just months before national elections.

According to results announced Wednesday by the Election Commission, the opposition Congress party was a clear winner in Chhattisgarh state, and fell one seat short of a majority in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

ANALYSIS: Indian state polls spell setback for Modi, boost for Congress

With a regional party offering support, the Congress party is set to rule all three states.

Voting in the three states was spread over the past two weeks.

The setback to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to revive the political fortunes of the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi, who took over as party president from his mother, Sonia Gandhi, a year ago.

India's national elections are due by April.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...