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India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has won three out of four key state elections, according to the election commission’s website.
The crucial polls pitted India’s opposition against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the vital national vote, scheduled in less than six months.
Ballot counting on Sunday (4 December) showed the BJP wrested control of the heartland states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan from the Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party.
Of 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35. In Rajasthan, the BJP got 115 of 199 seats.
The right-wing party was also likely to be re-elected in Madhya Pradesh for a record fifth term by winning 163 of 230 seats.
The Congress comfortably won Telangana state, which was ruled by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi party, formerly known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Of 119 seats in the southern state, the Congress won 64, while the BRS got 39. The BJP won an impressive eight seats in the state.
Vote counting in a fifth state, Mizoram, is set for Monday where BJP’s regional ally, the Mizo National Front, is in power.
Elections in the five states were held last month and more than 160 million people, or a sixth of India’s electorate, were eligible to vote. Polling in India is generally done in phases owing to the large population.
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