NEW DELHI — In recent state elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, known for its Hindu nationalist agenda, appeared on track for a remarkable victory in the politically influential state of Maharashtra. Concurrently, reports indicated that the opposition coalition was poised to secure a win in the mineral-rich state of Jharkhand.
As the elections unfolded, they served as a significant gauge of Modi’s popularity following his re-election five months prior, which saw him return to power without a parliamentary majority. This situation necessitated a coalition government formed with regional allies.
According to information from India’s Election Commission, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its partners were leading in 215 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra, which is the wealthiest state in India and includes the vital financial hub of Mumbai. Meanwhile, the opposition Congress party and its allies appeared to be leading in the eastern state of Jharkhand with 47 out of 81 seats. The vote counting had surpassed the midway point, and final results were expected later on Saturday.
The BJP, in alliance with a Hindu nationalist entity, currently governs Maharashtra, where approximately 80% of the population identifies as Hindu, and Muslims make up around 11.5% of the state’s 126 million people. In contrast, the Congress-led opposition coalition manages the government in Jharkhand.
To rally support among Hindu voters, the BJP has employed slogans that emphasize unity among Hindus while allegedly attempting to polarize the electorate by religious lines—a tactic that the opposition has criticized as divisive. Simultaneously, Priyanka Gandhi, a prominent Congress figure and member of the famous Nehru-Gandhi family, held a favorable lead against a communist party rival in the Wayanad constituency of Kerala. Her family, including her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi, are already established members of parliament.
With intense campaigning leading up to the elections, the BJP aimed to attract women voters through a program offering 1,500 rupees (approximately $18) monthly to over 20 million women aged 21 to 65, provided their families earn less than 250,000 rupees ($3,010) annually. The Congress party countered with a proposal for double the amount and free transportation on government buses for women.
The opposition also sought to leverage public dissatisfaction regarding youth unemployment, rising inflation, and falling crop prices during the BJP’s administration. Notably, Congress achieved a significant breakthrough in September, reclaiming support in Jammu and Kashmir, a region long plagued by insurgency, after a decade of absence. However, momentum shifted back to Modi’s BJP, which triumphed in the Haryana state elections in October, defying early predictions of an easy win for the Congress party.