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Modi’s coalition set for big win in key Indian state election, bolstering his popularity

Victory in Bihar is crucial, as the the Hindi-speaking state sends a major bloc to India’s parliament

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Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate their party’s lead in the Bihar state election results in New Delhi, India on Friday. Photo: EPA
Associated Press
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition is headed to win a key state election in a vote seen as a crucial test of Modi’s popularity in one of the country’s poorest yet most politically influential states.
Partial results on Friday from the Election Commission of India, the country’s election watchdog, showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) expected to take 208 seats of the 243-member legislature in the eastern state of Bihar.

A simple majority to form the government is 122. Modi’s party alone is forecast to take 95 seats.

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A victory in Bihar, the country’s third-most populous state with nearly 130 million people, is crucial as it sends the fourth-highest number of lawmakers to the lower house of parliament.

Its control strengthens the party in power as the state is seen as a political bellwether, setting political trends across India’s Hindi-speaking heartland.

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This year, the two-phase election was held amid widespread public concerns over unemployment, law and order, and alleged irregularities in revision of electoral rolls.

It saw hard-fought campaigns marked by mass rallies, aggressive welfare messaging and personal outreach to voters, both by Modi and his opponents.

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