This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/7158037.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
India's BJP 'wins' Gujarat poll India's BJP wins Gujarat election
(about 1 hour later)
The governing Congress party in India has recognised defeat in a key regional election that is seen as an important barometer for national elections. The Hindu nationalist BJP has won a key election in the western Indian state of Gujarat, nearly complete results show.
The Hindu nationalist BJP looks set to retain power for a fourth term in the western state of Gujarat. It marks a big victory for controversial right-wing Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is credited with pursuing successful economic policies.
Its controversial right-wing Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, is credited with successful economic policies. The governing Congress party admitted defeat in the communally-divided state. Correspondents say the victory will boost the BJP as it challenges Congress in the run up to a general election due in the next 18 months.
But he has been accused of failing to protect Muslims in 2002 religious riots in Gujarat that claimed 1,000 lives. The BJP has already won an absolute majority of the seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly and, if constituencies where it is in the lead are taken into account, it has 116 seats, the Electoral Commission of India says.
The BJP won or is leading the count in 115 of Gujarat's 182 constituencies, ahead of Congress with 59 constituencies, with other parties winning or leading in eight constituencies, according to the Electoral Commission of India. The Congress Party won or is leading in 60 constituencies, with the remaining six seats likely to go to smaller parties.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told the Times of India that Mr Modi had secured a "respectful mandate" and that it was a rare election where a party had won on the plank of "good governance and development." It is the fourth consecutive BJP election victory in Gujarat.
Shadow of the riots Gandhi setback
The Congress Party acknowledged its defeat in Gujarat, but reminded voters of the 2002 riots. The Congress Party acknowledged its defeat in Gujarat, but reminded voters of religious riots in 2002.
Mr Modi has been accused of failing to protect Muslims in the riots, which claimed the lives of 1,000 people.
"I do not grudge him the victory," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the Times of India."I do not grudge him the victory," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the Times of India.
However, he added that the win did not remove the "blot" of the religious riots of 2002.However, he added that the win did not remove the "blot" of the religious riots of 2002.
The communally divided western state voted in two stages on 11 and 16 December. Sonia Gandhi was heavily involved in the Gujarat campaign and lost
Correspondents say the victory will give new momentum to the BJP as it challenges Congress and its left-wing allies in the run up to a general election due in the next 18 months. The Congress party campaigned hard to defeat him, with major rallies by its top leaders including Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, the latest member of the Nehru Gandhi-dynasty in Indian politics.
But their defeat means that it is back to the drawing board and a major setback ahead of the more important national poll, the BBC's correspondent in Delhi, Sanjoy Majumder, says.