Assembly election results 2019: Early trends indicate BJP ahead in Maha, Haryana
Maharashtra witnessed a clash of alliances between the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Congress-NCPThese elections were fought in the backdrop of the domestic economy battling a severe demand slowdown
PremiumNew Delhi: With the counting of votes for elections to Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies underway, early trends indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be on course to return to power in both the states.
To be sure, these are early trends with the outcome crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi because both chief ministers, Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis and Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana, were handpicked by him after the BJP won the elections in 2014. Fadnavis and Khattar are known to have a close relationship with Modi since he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
The results may also help BJP shape the national narrative given the elections to these 288 seats in Maharashtra and 90 seats in Haryana came in the backdrop of a slowdown in the Indian economy and the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) scam.
India, Asia’s third-largest economy grew at its slowest pace in six years in the June quarter at 5%. The International Monetary fund (IMF) slashed its economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7%, citing weaker than expected outlook for domestic demand. IMF also lowered India's FY21 GDP growth forecast by 20 bps to 7.2%.
The outcome of the two assembly elections is also important for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leadership as BJP leaders have campaigned on issues of abrogation of Article 370 and 35A and made instant triple talaq illegal.
The electoral battle in the two states is also significant because Haryana witnessed a direct contest between Khattar and the Congress under former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while Maharashtra saw a clash between the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Congress-NCP alliances.
Also read: Catch all the live updates of the Maharashtra assembly election results 2019
Also read: Catch all the live updates of the Haryana assembly election results 2019
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