Delhi Defeat Marks Third Straight State Poll Loss For Modi
- Hindu nationalist BJP failed to win over voters in capital
- Protesters against citizenship law targeted in bitter campaign
A placard reading 'Delhi Please go and Vote' sits outside Jamia Millia Islamia University, in New Delhi.
Photographer: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal ruling party conceded defeat in a hard-fought state election for control of India’s capital Delhi, the most significant test of his popularity after his religion-based citizenship law led to widespread protests across the country.
The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, led-by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, held on to power as it swept 62 of the 70 seats in the state assembly, Election Commission data showed Tuesday, down from 67 in the 2015 poll. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won eight seats, up from their previous total of three. The Congress party did not win any seats in the election, which took place Saturday.