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Gujarat: Counting of votes starts in India PM's home state Gujarat: BJP pulls ahead in tight India contest
(about 1 hour later)
Counting of votes has begun in crucial elections in India's Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a lead as votes are counted in crucial elections in India's Gujarat state.
The BJP is leading in 86 of the 157 seats for which leads are available, according to election authorities.
The main rival Congress party is leading in 66 seats. In 2012, the BJP won 116 seats in the 182-seat assembly.
Gujarat is a stronghold state for Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has governed there for 22 years.Gujarat is a stronghold state for Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has governed there for 22 years.
A number of exit polls have suggested that the BJP is on course to win the election this time as well. Mr Modi was thrice chief minister of Gujarat and won the national vote because of his work there. To lose state polls will be a loss of face.
But exit polls have been wrong in the past, and the rival Congress party was seen to have put up a spirited fight. He held more than three dozen meetings in the state and campaigned on economic development and Hindu nationalism to woo voters.
Votes are also being counted in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. The Congress is expected to put up a spirited fight and improve upon its performance in 2012, when it won 61 seats.
Caste protests The BJP is also forging ahead in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where it is leading in 35 of the 59 seats for which leads are available. The Congress is leading in 21 seats.
Led by a resurgent Rahul Gandhi, the newly elected leader of the 132-year-old Congress, the party had stitched up an alliance with three newer, electorally untested leaders in Gujarat.
Among them Hardik Patel, a 24-year-old man who is too young to even contest elections, became what looked like the face of opposition to Mr Modi's party.
Mr Patel, a firebrand campaigner, is leading massive caste protests which have rocked Gujarat and sparked a movement demanding that the Patels - or the Patidar caste - be given better access to jobs and education through the quota system.
Some 14% of people in Gujarat are Patels, an influential farming community which has traditionally voted for the BJP.
But declining farm incomes are pushing community members into cities, where the lack of jobs has made competition for them intense. Anxious about their future, they have taken to the streets to demand affirmative action, even though there is little scope to extend quotas.
Mr Modi's party campaigned on economic development and Hindu nationalism to woo voters.
The prime minister himself held more than three dozen meetings in the state.
He sparked controversy by alleging that the Congress party was helping Pakistan to influence the state polls.He sparked controversy by alleging that the Congress party was helping Pakistan to influence the state polls.
In 2012, the BJP won 116 seats in the 182-seat assembly.
Polling in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh was held between 9 and 14 December.Polling in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh was held between 9 and 14 December.
More than 68% of Gujarat's 43 million eligible voters cast their ballots, while Himachal Pradesh saw a voter turnout of about 74%.More than 68% of Gujarat's 43 million eligible voters cast their ballots, while Himachal Pradesh saw a voter turnout of about 74%.