Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party lost big in a state he visited frequently before the recent virus surge forced him off the campaign trail, adding to growing signs of a backlash over his government’s handling of the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreak.
In West Bengal, incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress won more than 70% of the 292 seats up for grabs, while Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party took 76, according to results posted on the Election Commission of India on Monday. Last month, the prime minister predicted his party would win more than 200 seats in the state, which held voting over eight phases starting March 27.
Modi’s opponents won in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while his party kept power in the northeastern state of Assam and gained the federally-controlled territory of Puducherry, which it contested in alliance with a regional party. He conceded West Bengal in a series of posts on Twitter, congratulating Banerjee while also noting the BJP made gains in the state.