India leader’s party suffers 3rd defeat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal ruling party conceded defeat in a hard-fought state election for control of India’s capital Delhi, the most significant test of his popularity after his religion-based citizenship law led to widespread protests across the country.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was set to retain power as it swept ahead in 63 of the 70 seats in the state assembly, Election Commission data showed Tuesday afternoon, down from 67 in the 2015 poll. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was ahead in seven seats, up from their previous total of three. The Congress Party did not win any seats in the election.

The Hindu nationalist BJP unleashed an aggressive campaign to win Delhi, where it hasn’t won government for some 22 years, with Modi and his home minister Amit Shah leading the charge. The run-up to the polls was marked by divisive speeches and calls to violence by some members of his party. The city saw at least three shootings near an area where thousands of people have been demonstrating against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The The pushback against the law has been Modi’s biggest since he first came to power in 2014.

The new religion-based citizenship act, which was passed by an overwhelming majority in the Parliament, fast-tracks citizenship for religious minorities from three neighboring countries but excludes Muslims. Protesters say the law undermines India’s secular constitution, while the government says its aim is to protect persecuted minorities.

The Delhi elections also came at a time when the nation is facing slowing economic growth and surging unemployment.

“The decisive defeat of BJP in Delhi shows Modi magic is not working effectively and he is not invincible,” said Satish Misra, a political analyst at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank. “It’s a wake-up call to BJP and its politics. It also indicates that the opposition can challenge BJP if they stand united.”