BJP wins 3 of 4 states in Indian elections as Modi’s party stands against Congress

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has won in  three out of four state elections, according to results released Sunday from a crucial vote that pitted the main opposition party against that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi before national polls slated for 2024. 

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party snatched control of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan states from Indian National Congress and was reelected in Madhya Pradesh for a record fifth term, according to the election results.

The Congress party comfortably won in Telangana state, which is ruled by the strong Telangana Rashtra Samithi, known for opposing BJP.

Vote counting in a fifth state, Mizoram, is set for Monday where BJP’s regional ally, the Mizo National Front, is in power.

The elections in the five states were held last month in which more than 160 million people, or a sixth of India’s electorate, were eligible to caste their votes. Polling in India is generally conducted in phases owing to the large population. Modi thanked voters for “their unwavering support” in the states where his party became victorious. “The results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan indicate that the people of India are firmly with politics of good governance and development, which the @BJP4India stands for,” Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, conceded defeat in the three states where his party lost. “The battle of ideology will continue,” he wrote on X, and thanked the people of Telangana where his party won.

BJP workers celebrated, some danced wearing Modi masks, distributed sweets and smeared colors on each others’ faces marking the victory.

At the party headquarters in New Delhi, Modi walked among BJP activists who showered him with flower petals, chanting “Long live Mother India” and other slogans. In a speech, he said the results were “a victory for honesty, transparency and good governance.”

Modi and his party remain popular on a national level after nearly a decade in power and surveys suggest he will win a third consecutive term in 2024. But a new alliance of 28 opposition parties, called INDIA, is expected to challenge Modi’s party nationally. The acronym, which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, comprises India’s previously fractured opposition parties and is led by the Congress party. Both Modi and Gandhi flew across the five states to attract voters ahead of the election. The charged-up voting campaigns witnessed both leaders promising voters subsidies, loan waivers and employment guarantees for the youths.