India PM Modi's party leads in Haryana election

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved into the lead in elections in the northern state of Haryana on Tuesday, reversing early trends when it was trailing the main opposition Congress party, TV channels reported.

Elections in Haryana and the troubled Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir were held in phases that ended on Saturday, the first test of popularity since Modi returned as prime minister for a record third term.

Exit polls had predicted a win for the main opposition Congress party in Haryana and gave an edge to Congress and its regional ally National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Both legislatures have 90 seats each.

The counting showed BJP was leading in 51 seats in Haryana, where it has held power for a decade, while Congress was ahead in 33 seats, TV channel CNN-News18 reported.

In Jammu and Kashmir, which held its first provincial poll in a decade and the first since it was split into two federally administered territories in 2019, the Congress-NC alliance was ahead in 49 seats while BJP was leading in 27.

A win in Haryana would be a boost for BJP after it failed to secure an outright majority in national elections, and as it approaches provincial elections in the more politically significant states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The industrial hub of Maharashtra is presently ruled by a BJP coalition, and an opposition alliance is in power in mineral-rich Jharkhand.

Elections in both states, although yet to be announced, are expected to be held in November.

Victory for Congress in Jammu and Kashmir will come as a major boost for its leader, Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that gave India three prime ministers but who was blamed for the party's slump since Modi swept to power in 2014.

Gandhi was also the face of the two-dozen party opposition alliance that denied Modi an outright majority in the parliamentary election and is currently the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament.