Modi?s BJP faces mixed fate in India state polls
 

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s Hindu nationalists faced mixed fortunes in two Indian state elections, with his party on course to see reduced majorities as a grinding economic slowdown weighed on voters.An official count of tens of millions of ballots was underway on Thursday in western Maharashtra state, which is home to the financial hub of Mumbai, and in Haryana in the north, bordering New Delhi. With more than half the 288 seats in Maharashtra´s state assembly declared, Modi´s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won or was ahead in 103 seats, sharply down from 122 five years ago, the election commission´s website showed, leaving its rival Congress party trailing at 45.But in Haryana they were locked in a tight battle, with Congress winning or leading 31 seats — a boost for the party from its tally of 15 in the 2014 polls. Although the BJP appeared to be edging ahead of Congress, neither side was expected to secure a majority of the 90 seats up for grabs, putting the result on a knife-edge.The BJP is seeking a second term in both states, months after Modi´s landslide victory in national polls in May despite a patchy economic record that has seen unemployment hit levels not seen since the 1970s.The premier was a star campaigner in both states, eager to reassure voters upset over job losses and sluggish growth.Scores of BJP workers turned up at the party´s headquarters in Mumbai dressed in saffron tunics, with some playing drums and others carrying victory placards, letting off firecrackers in anticipation of the final results.Still, it was a fraction of the huge crowds that gathered there for state elections five years ago. Hours later, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that the reduced majority was not a cause for concern.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/ouNGA4ZHXYA

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