Modi’s Hindu nationalist party heads for sweeping win in Maharashtra state election

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party headed for a stunning victory Saturday in state elections in politically significant Maharashtra while the opposition seemed about to clinch victory in mineral-rich Jharkhand.

Polling in the two states has been widely seen as a test of Modi’s popularity after his party returned to power five months ago in national elections truncated for a third term without a parliamentary majority, forcing him to form a coalition government with help from regional partners.

India’s Election Commission said Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies led with 215 of 288 seats in Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state and home to the country’s financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai.

The opposition Congress party and its allies led in eastern Jharkhand state with 47 of 81 seats, according to the commission which also stated that vote counting has crossed the halfway mark and results were expected later on Saturday.

Modi’s BJP and a Hindu nationalist ally currently rule Maharashtra where Hindus constitute nearly 80% and Muslims 11.5% of its 126 million people. An opposition alliance, including the Congress party, is in power in eastern Jharkhand state.

The BJP has used slogans such as, “If you divide, then you will die” and “If we are united, then we are safe” to attract majority Hindu votes, prompting the opposition to accuse the party of trying to polarize voters along Hindu-Muslim religious lines.

Meanwhile, Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi, the 52-year-old Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion, also led comfortably in the race against a communist party candidate in the Wayanad seat in southern Kerala state. Her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi are already members of parliament.

Parties have been campaigning hard to draw in voters since the state election started.

The BJP hoped to attract women voters with a scheme that provides 1,500 rupees ($18) a month to over 20 million women in the 21-65 age group whose annual family income is less than 250,000 ($3,010). The Congress party promised women double that amount and free transportation in government buses.

The opposition also hoped to capitalize on the simmering disaffection with high youth unemployment, inflation, and low crop prices during the BJP’s rule.

In September, Congress was able to secure votes in India’s insurgency-wracked Jammu and Kashmir after a 10-year gap. But Modi’s BJP regained momentum in October and won the Haryana state elections where pollsters had predicted an easy victory for the opposition Congress party.