Subcontinent

Modi’s party loses key elections:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has suffered an embarrassing defeat in three state elections in its Hindu stronghold just months before national elections.

According to results announced Wednesday by the Election Commission, the opposition Congress party was a clear winner in Chhattisgarh state, and fell one seat short of a majority in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. With a regional party offering support, the Congress party is set to rule all three states.

Voting in the three states was spread over the past two weeks.

The setback to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to revive the political fortunes of the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi, who took over as party president from his mother, Sonia Gandhi, a year ago. India’s national elections are due by April. (AP)

Ghandhi

India extends citizens register:

India’s Supreme Court extended Wednesday by two weeks a deadline for millions of people left off a citizens register in Assam state to provide the necessary documents to be included.

A new draft Register of Citizens (NRC) in the northeastern state announced in July left off four million people, leaving them potentially stateless and facing an uncertain future.

With many of these lacking the necessary papers, only around 1.5 million people have filed claims for inclusion in the last two weeks, according to the state government. But it appealed to the Supreme Court seeking more time, saying it could not process all the claims before the previous deadline of Dec 15. (AP)

Ranil wins confidence vote:

The former Sri Lankan prime minister whose October sacking by the president precipitated a political crisis has won a confidence vote in Parliament.

Ranil Wickremesinghe received 117 votes in favor in the 225-member Parliament on Wednesday.

The result is expected to increase pressure on President Maithripala Sirisena to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister. Sirisena has vowed not to reappoint him despite criticism that such refusal is against the constitution. (AP)

Pakistan rejects US blacklist:

Pakistan on Wednesday rejected Washington’s decision to