Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party won India's most populous state with a big majority, according to the count on Thursday of a state assembly vote that could offer clues to the national mood before a 2024 general election.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won or was leading in 269 of the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh, which it currently rules, according to the Election Commission of India.
Final results are expected to be out in a few hours but unlikely to change much. Party workers in the state staged impromptu rallies to celebrate and smeared each other in the BJP's saffron colours.
"The BJP will form a government in Uttar Pradesh with a thumping majority," said party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia. "The people of the state have rejected the opposition that was building a castle in the air."
The victory in the northern state has come despite the state and federal government's much-criticized handling of Covid-19, lack of jobs and anger over farm reforms that Modi cancelled last year after protests.
The BJP has long predicted it would retain the state because of policies such as free staples for the poor during the pandemic, a crackdown on crime, and its popularity among the Hindu majority reinforced by the construction of a temple on the site of a razed mosque.
For decades, Uttar Pradesh was a stronghold of the main opposition Congress party, but it has been unable to stem a slide in its popularity over recent years.
"Humbly accept the people's verdict," senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty who has overseen the party's decline, said on Twitter.
"We will learn from this and keep working for the interests of the people of India," he added.
Humbly accept the people’s verdict. Best wishes to those who have won the mandate.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 10, 2022
My gratitude to all Congress workers and volunteers for their hard work and dedication.
We will learn from this and keep working for the interests of the people of India.
The win in Uttar Pradesh is a seal of approval for Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, who was surprisingly chosen as chief minister for the state five year ago and is seen as a future prime ministerial candidate for the BJP.
In elections in four smaller states over the past month, the AAP that governs the national capital territory of Delhi was heading for a landslide victory in Punjab. By 3:45pm, local time, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party won 53 seats and was leading in 39 constituencies in the 117-seat Punjab Assembly.
In Uttarakhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in 48 of the 70 seats.
In Goa, BJP has secured a win in 14 constituencies out of 40 in Goa and had a lead in six of them, according to the Election Commission’s data at 4pm. The Congress has won in five seats and was leading in six constituencies, and has won five seats.
In Manipur, BJP was leading in 11 seats and has won 10 out of 46 constituencies in Manipur whose status was available on the Election Commission website at 3:30pm. The Congress has won two seats and is leading in two constituencies so far, according to Election Commission.
