India’s BJP wins regional elections

India’s main opposition party has achieved victory in three states in regional Legislative Assembly polls ahead of the 2014 national elections.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 162 assembly seats in the northern state of Rajasthan. The win was a major setback for the ruling Congress Party, which won only 21 seats.

Ballots were also in favor of the Hindu nationalist party, BJP, in the central states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where it won 165 seats against the Congress Party’s 58.

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP won 49 seats in a close contest where the ruling party won 39 seats.

“This win is very important for Bharatiya Janata Party,” said Kailash Nath Bhatt, a BJP spokesperson, adding, “This shows that people have lost faith in the Congress Party.”

Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress Party, said Sunday, “It goes without saying that we are very, very disappointed at the results, but we accept the verdict of the people in all humility.”

“Naturally, this result calls for deep introspection. We have to understand (and) to look at the many reasons for this defeat. We have to look into the way we took or did not take our message to the people and also we have to look at the way our own party is equipped or not so well equipped in running an election.”

The regional Legislative Assembly polls were held on December 4 and the results were announced on Sunday.

The BJP also won the polls in the state of New Delhi, but the win was not major due to the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is a new political party led by anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP won 31 seats and the AAP secured 28.

The Congress Party has led the central government for two terms and faces widespread criticism and popular anger over rampant corruption and a high rate of inflation.