Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party won a landslide victory in India's most important battleground state on Saturday, in a personal triumph that will strengthen his claim to a second term as national leader.
Wresting control of Uttar Pradesh is a ringing endorsement of Modi's stewardship of Asia's third-largest economy after his high-risk decision last November to scrap high-value banknotes worth 86 percent of the cash in circulation.
The Election Commission of India said Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won a clear majority, according to partial results.
The BJP was on course to win 309 of 403 seats in the state assembly, the biggest majority for any party in the state since 1980.
Almost four in ten voters backed Modi's party, the election commission said as it tallied the last votes, close to the party's vote share in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 national election when it won the biggest national majority in three decades.
"I give my heartfelt thanks to the people of Uttar Pradesh. This is a historic victory for the BJP; a victory for development and good governance," Modi told his 28 million followers on Twitter.
Investors hope victory will embolden Modi to embark on more reforms, including the launch of a national sales tax, to boost economic growth.
"The outcome of this election will enable Modi to sharpen his winning anti-corruption and improved governance policies as he begins to position himself for the 2019 general election," wrote analysts Shailesh Kumar and Sasha Riser-Kositsky of macro advisory firm Eurasia Group.
Modi threw himself into the Uttar Pradesh campaign after his party got off to a slow start, addressing dozens of rallies and turning the contest into a test of his personal popularity and his radical move to abolish big banknotes to rein in corruption.
Celebrations erupted outside BJP offices in state capital Lucknow and Delhi, with party workers dancing and splashing each other with paint in keeping with the Holi festival of colours that Hindus are celebrating this weekend.
Modi's campaign manager, Amit Shah, credited the BJP victory to a corruption free and pro-poor administration. The BJP will discuss who will become the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday evening, Shah told reporters.
OPPONENTS DECIMATED
Results for four other state elections put the BJP ahead in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand but losing control of the coastal state of Goa. In the northeastern state of Manipur, the BJP trailed the Congress party.
Congress won in Punjab state, offering at least some consolation after Rahul Gandhi, heir apparent to the party leadership, failed again to make an impact.
In Uttar Pradesh, a largely poor and agricultural state of 220 million people, Modi pitched himself as a man on the side of the poor prepared to hit the corrupt rich hard with his demonetisation drive.
The scale of the victory suggests Modi's appeal cut across caste and community in a state where most people traditionally vote along religious and social lines.
Critics accuse his party of stirring communal tensions to shore up votes among its core Hindu base, particularly after its campaign got off to a slow start.
None of the BJP's opponents, including the ruling Samajwadi Party, managed a vote share above 23 percent, official returns showed.
"The Samajwadi Party wholeheartedly accepts the verdict of the people of Uttar Pradesh," spokesman Ghanshyam Tiwari said, conceding defeat. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was expected to resign later on Saturday.
The election decimates the field of credible opponents who could halt Modi's march to a second term at the 2019 general election.
Victory in Uttar Pradesh will also make it easier to overcome resistance to the BJP's legislative agenda in the upper house of parliament, where the ruling party is in the minority.
Reuters
Sat Mar 11 2017
The Election Commission of India said Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won a clear majority, according to partial results. -Filepix
Sektor pembinaan berkembang 14.2 peratus kepada RM36.8 bilion pada suku pertama 2024
Nilai kerja dalam sektor pembinaan melonjak sebanyak 14.2 peratus tahun ke tahun (y-o-y), berjumlah RM36.8 bilion pada suku pertama 2024.
Kelulusan berisiko jejas hubungan antarabangsa Georgia
Parlimen Georgia pada Isnin meluluskan pendengaran ketiga bagi undang-undang 'Ejen Asing', sekali gus membolehkan anggota Dewan Rakyat membuat undian berdasarkan perlembagaan. Akta 'Ejen Asing' itu diperkenalkan demi memastikan organisasi-organisasi di Georgia bersifat telus dari segi penerimaan dana dari luar negara serta untuk mengelakkan campur tangan pihak luar dalam urusan berkaitan.
Cubaan seludup kala jengking, labah-labah dari Turkiye gagal
DNA haiwan berkenaan boleh digunakan untuk pengeluaran ubat-ubatan yang bernilai mencecah AS$10 juta untuk seliter.
Operasi menyelamat mengesan mangsa hilang diteruskan
Pasukan menyelamat giat mencari mangsa yang masih hilang susulan banjir kilat dan lumpur di Sumatera Barat, Indonesia, yang mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 43 orang.
500 petugas perubatan terbunuh di Gaza sejak 7 Oktober
Sekurang-kurangnya 500 petugas perubatan telah terbunuh sejak bermulanya perang Israel di Gaza pada 7 Oktober tahun lalu, kata Kementerian Kesihatan Gaza pada Ahad sempena Hari Jururawat Antarabangsa.
Tentera Israel halau rakyat Palestin di selatan & utara Gaza
Penduduk Palestin yang datang dari utara dan selatan Gaza dilihat memenuhi kawasan bandar Deir Al-Balah sejak hujung minggu ini dalam usaha mereka mencari perlindungan di tengah wilayah itu. Ini selepas mereka berdepan tekanan daripada tentera Israel untuk meninggalkan kedua kawasan utara dan selatan Gaza yang turut menempatkan laluan masuk yang baharu dibina oleh Israel yang kononnnya untuk menyalurkan bantuan kemanusiaan buat penduduk Palestin.
Penambahbaikan sistem untuk bantu jemaah dan petugas
Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) memperkenalkan sistem yang ditambahbaik tahun ini iaitu Content Delivery Network (CDN) dan sistem penginapan di masyair untuk membolehkan akses dan capaian lebih pantas bagi jemaah serta petugas haji Malaysia.
Ulang alik seludup diesel Bukit Kayu Hitam-Bangkok
Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia mematahkan tindakan seorang lelaki yang berulang alik Bukit Kayu Hitam-Bangkok untuk menyeludup keluar diesel.
Industri penjagaan: Sasar jadi kerjaya profesional, latih 385 individu tahun ini
Nancy berkata, ini termasuklah melatih lebih banyak tenaga pekerja dalam industri penjagaan, dengan matlamat mencapai sasaran 385 individu tahun ini.
Batuk kokol dalam kalangan bayi membimbangkan
Kes batuk kokol atau pertussis dalam kalangan bayi berada di tahap membimbangkan, kata Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Teknikal Program Immunise4life, Profesor Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail.
Parti Kongres kalahkan Parti BJP pimpinan Narendra Modi dalam pilihan raya negeri
Kongres Kebangsaan India memenangi 117 kerusi dan mendahului di 19 kerusi lain manakala BJP memperoleh 53 dan mendahului di 11 kawasan pilihan raya.
India hadapi kemarahan selepas kenyataan hina Islam
Kenyataan yang disifatkan menghina Islam itu mencetuskan protes dan rusuhan di bandar utara dan kemudian di Mumbai.
Negara-negara Islam kutuk kenyataan anti-Islam BJP, tuntut permohonan maaf
Qatar menyeru kerajaan India untuk segera mengecam kenyataan itu dan memohon maaf secara terbuka kepada semua umat Islam di dunia.
Isteri pemimpin India meninggal dunia diserang monyet
Penduduk tempatan turut mengadu berlaku serangan monyet ke atas kanak-kanak, wanita dan kaum lelaki hampir setiap hari di bandar itu.
Ceritalah: Adakah Modi boleh dihalang?
AAP menjadi satu-satunya pilihan yang layak bagi orang Islam Delhi sementara BJP hanya salah satu pilihan bagi penganut-penganut Hindu.
Protes isu kerakyatan berterusan, kerajaan India minta sokongan bintang Bollywood
Acara yang dianjurkan oleh dua pemimpin senior dari Parti Bharatiya Janata (BJP) itu bertujuan membincangkan soal salah tanggapan tentang CAA.
Pengampunan India kepada kaum pendatang.. kecuali yang beragama Islam
Undang-undang kewarganegaraan India baharu memberi keampunan kepada pendatang hanya terpakai bagi kaum minoriti kecuali yang beragama Islam.
Ceritalah India: Kalau bukan Modi, siapa?
Veena pasti bahawa jika Perdana Menteri yang bertahan dipilih semula, anaknya akan mendapat pekerjaan: "Modi akan menyelesaikan masalah kami. Jika tidak Modi, siapa?"
Ceritalah Modi: Apa yang ada untuk saya?
Setiap orang bersetuju bahawa Hyderabad lebih membangun daripada Chennai. Mereka kagum dengan hentian bas berhawa dingin yang baharu di bandar raya itu.
Modi alami kekalahan besar dalam pilihan raya negeri
Kekalahan itu dianggap tamparan buat Perdana Menteri Narendra Modi menjelang pilihan raya umum 2019.