NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s ruling party could lose power in three key states, four TV networks said on Tuesday, citing votecount leads, potentially handing Prime Minister Narendra Modi his biggest defeat since he took office in 2014, and months ahead of a general election. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress was ahead in 59 of the 90 seats at stake, with the BJP at 24. “As the three erstwhile BJP states have a large agrarian population, the BJP’s drubbing could be interpreted to mean that farm unrest is real,” Nomura said in a research note before the results. Congress has already said it would not name Gandhi, who is seen as lacking experience, as a prime ministerial candidate. “When one and one become eleven, even the mighty can be dethroned,” opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav said of the prospect of growing opposition unity.

Source: Egypt Independent December 11, 2018 11:48 UTC