India State Elections: BJP To Retain Power In Uttar Pradesh, Congress Loses Punjab

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, March 10 (Bernama) -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to retain power in the most populous state Uttar Pradesh while the Congress party is beaten in Punjab in the country's key state elections, the vote count showed on Thursday. Five states went to the polls in phases between February 10 and March 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP was leading in 249 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, while its main challenger Samajwadi Party was ahead in 122 places, according to the counting trends in the afternoon. With its population of 240 million and the highest number of members in the national Parliament, Uttar Pradesh is seen as the bellwether of voter mood in the crucial Hindi-speaking region before the 2024 general election. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was getting about 90 of the total 117 assembly seats, while the Congress party, which ruled the state, was leading in 17 seats. The BJP was also leading in the smaller states of Uttarakhand, Maniour and Goa, according to the vote count. -- BERNAMA