Landslide for Modi’s BJP in Maharashtra polls
- 2 hours ago
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed for a victory on Saturday in state elections in politically significant Maharashtra while the opposition won mineral-rich Jharkhand state.
Polling in the two states are seen as a test of Modi’s popularity after his party returned to power in June national elections but was forced to form a coalition government with help from regional partners.
India’s Election Commission said Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have already won 183 of 288 seats and were leading in another 48 seats in Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state and home to the country’s financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai.
Modi on Saturday termed the verdict given by the people of Maharashtra to the Mahayuti, which swept back to power with a near absolute majority, is a “stamp” of approval for the good governance of the BJP-led government.
“Without a doubt, the Maharashtra result is historic. The verdict of Maharashtra is a stamp for the BJP model of good governance. The people of Maharashtra have blessed us for the time because they trust us. The BJP has also become the largest party in Maharashtra for the third time,” said Modi in his victory speech at BJP headquarters.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described the drubbing in Maharashtra as “unexpected” and assured supporters that the party would undertake a serious analysis of the adverse outcome.
Taking to social media platform X, Rahul wrote in Hindi, “Maharashtra results are unexpected and we would conduct a detailed analysis.”
The opposition Congress party and its allies have won 50 of 81 seats and were leading in another four seats in eastern Jharkhand state, according to the commission.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi from Congress party, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, is set to make her debut in Parliament after winning the race against a Communist Party candidate by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes in the Wayanad seat in southern Kerala state.
She contested a special election after her brother Rahul, who was elected in two constituencies in June, had to vacate one. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is already in Parliament. Ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) shared victory in Kerala by-elections, conceding second place to BJP.
In Uttar Pradesh ruling BJP, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, retained its primacy, securing six of the nine Assembly seats where bypolls were held with ally RLD winning the seventh while the Samajwadi Party got two seats.
Agencies
