Setback for Modi with loss in key India state poll
World
Sun, May 02, 2021
Indian supporters of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) celebrate the party s lead during the ongoing counting process of the West Bengal legislative assembly election, in Siliguri on May 2, 2021. AFP/Diptendu Dutta
KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu-nationalist party suffered a setback Sunday when it lost a tightly contested and violence-hit state poll.
India held its biggest democratic exercise in two years over the past month, with 175 million people eligible to vote in five regional elections.
But the marathon polls involved huge rallies where many attendees were maskless, and a record-breaking coronavirus spike coincided with the final phases of voting.
India s Modi takes electoral hit in key state amid virus surge
Issued on:
02/05/2021 - 21:53 Supporters of Trinamool Congress (TMC) party celebrate their victory over the ruling BJP party in Kolkata on May 2, 2021. AFP - - 4 min Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu-nationalist party suffered a setback Sunday when it lost a fiercely contested state poll. Advertising Read more
Over the past month India held its biggest democratic exercise in two years, with 175 million people eligible to vote in five regional elections.
But the marathon polls involved huge rallies where many attendees were maskless, and a record-breaking coronavirus spike coincided with the final phases of voting.
[Reuters]
Updated at 2:50 p.m. ET on 2021-05-02
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party swept the state elections on Sunday, routing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, which many blame for the horrific nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases.
Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came a distant second in state legislature polls, a result that could have long-term national repercussions for the party, analysts said. Still, the party managed to widely increase its share of seats in the state assembly.
For Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, this was a third consecutive win in state elections. However, Banerjee lost Nandigram, the seat she was contesting from.
India elections: Mamata Banerjee stops the Modi juggernaut
AFP
PTI file photos
Banerjee, however, lost her seat in Nandigram, to a former confidant who defected to Modi’s party.
India s Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback on Sunday when it lost a tightly contested and violence-hit state poll.
The most important election was in West Bengal, where Modi and his right-hand man, Home Minister Amit Shah, campaigned heavily as they sought to end a decade of rule by firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee.
But Banerjee s Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the elections by winning 213 seats in the 292 house. In a victory speech later on Sunday, the 66-year-old Banerjee, a fierce critic of Modi, said: This victory has saved the humanity, the people of India. It s the victory of India.