Nov 08 , 2015
News
Modi loses Bihar, fails to secure even thirty-percent of seats
PATNA: Narendra Modi conceded defeat Sunday in a key election in Bihar, one of India´s poorest and largest states, in a major blow for the prime minister who fronted a no-holds barred campaign.
It seems India has given its first verdict against Modi’s fundamentalist policies in the Bihar elections where Modi´s Hindu nationalist party unable to take even 80 out of the 243-seat state assembly compared to 160 for a coalition of rival regional parties.
Modi turned the Bihar poll into a key test of his popularity, addressing some 30 campaign rallies and promising voters billions of dollars for development in a state where two thirds lack access to electricity.
The premier´s defeat was also a setback to his plans to push major economic reforms through the national parliament where his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacks a majority.
Assembly elections are important not only because state leaders wield significant power, but because parties gain seats in India´s upper house, where the BJP does not have the numbers.
As the contest tightened in recent weeks, the campaign shifted to bitter issues along religious and caste lines, which have traditionally dominated the state of 100 million people, more than the population of Germany.
The BJP needed a win after suffering a humiliating defeat in February elections for the New Delhi state assembly to a fledgling anti-corruption party.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist, stormed to power at national polls in May 2014 promising sweeping reforms to revive the faltering economy.
The Bihar campaign has been dogged by religious tensions after several Muslims were killed in separate incidents by Hindu mobs who suspected them of stealing or eating cows which Hindus consider sacred.
Analysts said Muslims, who make up 16 percent of Bihar´s population, voted against the BJP, along with lower castes in India´s age-old social hierarchy, who sided with traditional allies Kumar and Yadav.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk