Ruling party pulls ahead in Modi’s home state election

NEW DELHI: India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to win an election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, the vote count showed, but with a reduced margin, which will be a boost for the opposition.

A combined opposition led by the Congress party had mounted a tough challenge in the western state of Gujarat, hoping to weaken Modi in his home base by exploiting discontent over a lack of jobs and a national sales tax that hit business.

The BJP won more than 100 seats in the 182-member state assembly, projections by India Today, CNN News18 and TimesNow showed.

A party needs 92 seats to rule the state. Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, who formally took over as party president at the weekend, was set to win more than 70 seats, far better than it had done in the past.

A relieved BJP said Modi’s popularity remained intact.

“There is no other leader close,” said Shyam Jaju, party vice-president.

The mood in the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and in Gujarat’s main city Ahmedabad was initially tense as early trends showed a close fight.

But later workers gathered to shout slogans and cheer victory.

Modi’s party was also ahead in Himachal Pradesh, the Himalayan state in the north also voting for a new state assembly.

Modi faces a general election in 2019, but before then, the opposition aims to slow down Modi’s momentum in state elections, with two more next year.

Businesses across India have been struggling with the poor implementation of a goods and services tax that aims to harmonise an array of state and federal taxes but entangled them in cumbersome procedures. — Reuters