Indian leader's party takes electoral hit amid virus surge

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered a resounding defeat in a key state election, indicating his Hindu nationalist party’s political strength may be slipping as the country struggles under its coronavirus surge

NEW DELHI -- India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered a resounding defeat in a key state election on Sunday, indicating his Hindu nationalist party’s political strength may be slipping as the country struggles to contain an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was unable to dislodge West Bengal state's firebrand chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, after a hard-fought campaign. On Sunday night, Modi took to Twitter to congratulate rival Banerjee's win. “The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfill people's aspirations and also to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote. His party also failed to win in two southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But the BJP secured a second term in the northeastern state of Assam and an alliance with regional parties led it to victory in the union territory of Puducherry.