Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed for a surprise election victory in Haryana state on Tuesday, reinforcing its popularity in the northern heartland a few months after stumbling in national elections.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) retained its decade-long power in Haryana with a third straight win in the 2024 Assembly election, giving a jolt to the Congress, which was its key challenger, fighting to wrest power from the BJP.

The Election Commission of India data shows that most of the seats won by the BJP in J&K are from Jammu, while Kashmir appears to have voted overwhelmingly for the NC. Among the winners are Omar Abdullah from Ganderbal,

The BJP as well as the NC-Congress alliance got a comfortable majority in Haryana and J and K respectively, where the Assemblies had an identical strength of 90.

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared on course for a surprise win on Tuesday in polls in the northern state of Haryana, but was trailing the opposition in the first elections in a decade in troubled Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Congress's overwhelming confidence in victory failed to translate public support into actual votes.

This was also the first assembly election to be held since the federal government revoked the region's autonomy and changed the former state into a federally governed territory of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Having learned its lessons from the unexpected Lok Sabha poll verdict, the BJP had left no stone unturned to arrest the 10-year-long anti-incumbency in the northern state, and its gamble paid off. ALSO READ: ‘Guarantee of vikas prevailed over pack of lies’: PM Modi on BJP's Haryana win “The victory in Haryana is outcome of immense hardwork of party workers.

The BJP pulled off a hat trick in Haryana on Tuesday, bettering its 2019 performance to score a majority in the northern state. In Jammu and Kashmir, I.N.D.I.A bloc allies Congress and National Conference looked set to form the Union territory’s first government.

Against the dominant narrative of a Congress comeback, the BJP has pulled off a historic third term on the trot in Haryana, a feat that will reinvigorate the ruling party cadres and could deal a debil

The BJP's unexpected victory in Haryana against exit polls' predictions underscores the party's resilience and strategic prowess despite challenges. This result is likely to boost the BJP's position in the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections and challenge the opposition's unity and strategies.