Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered a significant political setback Sunday in a widely watched state assembly election, losing a bitterly fought campaign to an alliance of rival parties.
The loss in Bihar, where Modi campaigned fiercely, was viewed as a rebuke of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party's often divisive rhetoric and of Modi's year-and-a-half in power, which critics say has failed to bring the economic reforms he promised.
The campaign in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, was marred by allegations that Modi's conservative party was trying to exploit caste and religious differences - particularly between majority Hindus and minority Muslims - to appeal to voters.
Amit Shah, the BJP's president, drew criticism for saying that if the party lost in Bihar, fireworks would be set off in Muslim-dominated Pakistan, India's blood rival.
The loss in Bihar, where Modi campaigned fiercely, was viewed as a rebuke of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party's often divisive rhetoric and of Modi's year-and-a-half in power, which critics say has failed to bring the economic reforms he promised.
The campaign in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, was marred by allegations that Modi's conservative party was trying to exploit caste and religious differences - particularly between majority Hindus and minority Muslims - to appeal to voters.
Amit Shah, the BJP's president, drew criticism for saying that if the party lost in Bihar, fireworks would be set off in Muslim-dominated Pakistan, India's blood rival.
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