Indian PM Modi's party takes electoral hit amid virus surge

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to make gains in four recent state elections, according to preliminary voting trends released on Sunday by the independent Election Commission, indicating his party's political strength may be slipping as the country struggles to contain an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases.

The Election Commission’s vote forecast showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailing in West Bengal state behind a powerful regional party, apparently unable to dislodge the state’s firebrand chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, after a hard-fought campaign.

Modi’s party looks set to retain power in the northeastern Assam state for a second term, but failed to pick up any significant gains there or make inroads in two southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Even before the current virus surge, Modi’s party faced stiff challenges in these local legislative elections.

Following the disappointing results, Modi stands weakened but faces no threats to staying on as prime minister until his term ends in 2024.

"The BJP started running out of steam as the pandemic spread,” said political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

"The verdict in West Bengal state will definitely weaken Modi’s position,” he added, but cautioned that further study of the results was needed in order to say how much they were a referendum on the BJP’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

With 70% of the vote counted in West Bengal, the rival All India Trinamool Congress party could win 211 out of 292 seats in the state legislature - having won 21 seats so far and leading in anther 190.

That's compared to potentially just 80 seats for the BJP, which has won three seats outright and leads in 77.

In Assam’s 125-seat state legislature, the BJP and its allies are ahead in the race for 75 seats, compared to 49 seats tipping toward its main challengers.

In Puducherry, a small former French colony previously known as Pondicherry, the BJP was expected to come to power through an alliance amid efforts to increase its presence in the country's south, where it has been traditionally weak.

In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin returned his DMK party to power after a decade by defeating an incumbent coalition that has the BJP as its national partner.

In Kerala in the south, where the BJP until now has played only a bit part, a left-wing alliance retained power with a comfortable victory over a Congress-led coalition.

It was the first time a government in the state had been re-elected since 1977.
Agencies