

Please try another search
By Sumit Khanna
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat began voting on Thursday with his Hindu nationalist party expected to win a seventh straight term, but any unexpected slip could herald a tighter contest in national polls due by 2024.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not lost in the western industrial state since 1995 and Modi served as its chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014 after trouncing the Congress party.
Opinion polls conducted in the lead-up to the Gujarat polls projected the BJP to comfortably retain power in the state.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was formed only a decade ago and has claimed power in Delhi and the state of Punjab, is set to become one of the main opposition parties in Gujarat at the expense of Congress.
Early on Thursday, voters in Surat, the state's second largest city and a diamond cutting and polishing hub, lined up to cast their ballot in the first of the two-phase election.
The city is expected to witness a three-way contest with Congress and AAP also looking to make inroads in the BJP bastion. The second phase of voting is on Monday and results are due on Dec. 8.
In the last state election five years ago, the BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member assembly while Congress got 77.
The BJP is expected to win between 131 to 139 seats this time, ABP-CVoter projected in November. Congress could win 31 to 39 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party could bag up to 15.
According to India TV-Matrize opinion poll, also conducted in November, the BJP may win up to 119 seats.
Modi remains popular in many parts of the country despite criticism of inflation and unemployment, and his party also expects to emerge victorious in state assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh in the north, which were held last month with results to be declared on Dec. 8.
AAP has promised voters subsidies on electricity and other bills in their bid to become the main challenger to the BJP.
Congress, on the other hand, launched a cross-country march in September against what it calls "hate and division", hoping to revive its fortunes and regain some popularity.
(This story has been corrected to fix the day of second phase of voting to Monday, not Tuesday, in paragraph 6)
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.