Narendra Modi loses key state election as Covid grips India
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Luke Harding from World news | The Guardian on (#5HB9V)
Prime minister defeated in West Bengal as voters send message over handling of coronavirus crisis
India's prime minister has suffered a rare political defeat in a key state election, amid signs of a voter backlash over his handling of the coronavirus disaster as the country reported a record number of deaths.
Narendra Modi had been expected to make significant gains on Sunday in West Bengal, one of few states where his rightwing Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) does not have a parliamentary majority. Instead, Mamata Banerjee, a powerful regional politician and prominent Modi critic, won a third term as chief minister.
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