Modi's party loses ground in Maharashtra, Haryana polls

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalists faced mixed fortunes in two Indian state elections, with his party on course to see reduced majorities as a grinding economic slowdown weighed on voters.

An official count of tens of millions of ballots was underway Thursday in western Maharashtra state, which is home to the financial hub of Mumbai, and in Haryana in the north, bordering New Delhi.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won or was ahead in 103 seats in Maharashtra, down from 122 five years ago, the election commission's website showed, leaving its rival Congress party trailing with 40 in the 288-seat state assembly.

But in Haryana, the two parties were neck and neck, with each leading 35 of the 90 seats up for grabs -- a boost for the Congress which won only 15 seats in the 2014 polls.

The BJP is seeking a second term in both states, months after Modi secured a landslide win in national polls in May despite a patchy economic record that has seen unemployment hit levels not seen since the 1970s.

The premier was a star campaigner in both states, eager to reassure voters upset over job losses and sluggish growth.

Scores of BJP workers turned up at the party's headquarters in Mumbai dressed in saffron tunics, with some playing drums and others carrying victory placards and letting off firecrackers in anticipation of the final results.
Agencies
 

Dhaka/Nasim