KOLKATA — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party suffered a setback Sunday when it lost a fiercely contested state poll.
Over the past month India held its biggest democratic exercise in two years, with 175 million people eligible to vote in five regional elections.
But the marathon polls involved huge rallies where many attendees were maskless, and a record-breaking coronavirus spike coincided with the final phases of voting.
Experts blame complacency about the pandemic, as well as religious festivals attended by millions of devotees and political rallies, for the virus crisis.
The most important election was in the eastern state of West Bengal, …
Keep on reading: Setback for Modi after loss in key India state poll