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 BJP is in the lead in the state of Haryana which borders the capital Delhi, but trails in the federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, which are seeing their first election results in a decade.

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.

Bharatiya Janata Party won 48 out of 90 seats, while opposition Indian National Congress party won 36 and is leading in another, according to Election Commission of India - Anadolu Ajansı

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailed in two provincial elections as votes were counted on Tuesday, TV channels said, a fresh setback after it failed to win a clear majority in the general election this year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party appeared to be in a tighter contest in local elections in two northern provinces, in contrast to exit polls that predicted losses in both.

By Sakshi Dayal NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved into the lead in elections in the northern state of Haryana on Tuesday, reversing early trends when it was trailing the main opposition Congress party,

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.

Defying the exit poll predictions, the BJP had a miraculous recovery after the early trends showed the saffron party trailing in Haryana.