BJP counting on eastern, NE states to regain ground after tri-state loss

Congress's resurgence and attempts by the numerous opposition parties to join hands suggests the BJP may lose about 40 to 50 of the 282 seats it won in the last general election

India’s ruling party is counting on making significant gains in the country’s east and northeast after recent electoral losses in traditional strongholds put it on the back foot before the 2019 general elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost power in the states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh this month, energizing the main opposition Congress party, which formed government in all three. The setbacks raised questions about Modi’s ability to replicate his landslide 2014 victory, the biggest mandate in 30 years.

Gains in the northeast and east, along with a steady performance in the Hindi-speaking heartland of