By Press Association 2021 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally ahead of West Bengal state elections in Kolkata, India India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered a resounding defeat in a key state election on Sunday, indicating his Hindu nationalist party’s political strength may be slipping as the country struggles to contain an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was unable to dislodge West Bengal state’s firebrand chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, after a hard-fought campaign. On Sunday night, Mr Modi took to Twitter to congratulate his rival’s win. He wrote: “The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfill people’s aspirations and also to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.”