Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party BJP is set to be re-elected in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP has secured more than 250 seats in the 403-member legislature – by far the largest in the country. It was the first time in more than three decades that a party won a second consecutive term in government.
BJP’s sweeping victory guarantees that Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk, will remain Prime Minister for a second term.
The UP, as the state is often called, was the largest award among the five constituencies where voting took place last month.
Home to a population of 200 million people, the UP is seen as a magnet for Indian politics. Conquering the state could boost Monty and his party’s chances of winning a third consecutive term in the 2024 general election.
Niranjan Sahoo, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, told DW that if the BJP swept all five states, “it will remain in the lead for the 2024 national elections.”
“It once again puts Prime Minister Monti in an enviable position as the undisputed leader of the Croc party. But it is bad news for the main opposition Congress, which is struggling to maintain a stronghold in its traditional bastion,” Sahou added.
Newbie party wins Punjab
Four smaller states also counted the votes cast during the one-month election period.
Among them was the northern state of Punjab, which was rocked by a year-long peasant protests against controversial agricultural laws passed by the Monti government.
The BJP, as predicted by the exit polls, performed poorly in the state, failing to get more than a handful of seats.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a relatively new party currently ruling the national capital Delhi, is on the verge of collapse in Punjab. It leads in more than 90 of the total 117 positions.
“The unprecedented scan of the AAP in a full northern state makes them a national entity from a city-based party. From a political start in less than eight years that began in the city of Delhi, it has come a long way,” Sahoo said.
Punjab was previously led by the Congress party, India’s main opposition nationwide, which also failed to make significant gains elsewhere.
BJP is also projected to win in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and leads as the largest party in the Goa tourist hotspot and in the northeastern state of Manipur.
adi / jcg (AP, dpa, AFP)
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