“The party and government at the Centre should be sensitive to their sentiments too”, he said.
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The defeat has led many opponents of PM Modi to claim that the rising intolerance towards minorities in India was denting his image.
A big win for the BJP in Bihar would not have translated into to sufficient support for the party in the Rajya Sabha anytime soon, Fitch added.
Jaitley said his party respects the people’s mandate in Bihar and promised to play the role of a constructive opposition to enable the new government fulfil people’s aspirations.
“It is running its show here on borrowed leaders from other parties or workers coming in from other states”, Gogoi said.
India’s stock exchange fell as much as 2.3 percent in Monday’s morning session on the BJP’s defeat before recovering a few losses.
Notably, officials in the finance ministry were awaiting the verdict of the Bihar assembly polls to get a sense of how fast the Narendra Modi government can push the GST bill in Parliament.
The election was one of the most vicious in recent years.
“I don’t see it as a setback to the economy… structural reforms will continue”.
Keith Vaz, the longest-serving Asian MP, said the visit was hugely important for the Indian community in Britain and they would expect Mr Modi to be given a reception “equal, if not better” than that accorded to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his recent state visit. A state election is not a referendum.
While the ruling NDA won only 58 seats (BJP 53) in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the Grand Alliance got 178 seats. Referring to the Gujarat riots of 2002, Gogoi said neither he nor his government has ever been held responsible for instigating violence in riots that happen in Assam.
Growth is now purring along at seven percent. If he is able to secure another term, that is.
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The loss is the second after the BJP suffered a humiliating defeat in February elections for the Delhi state assembly. This would require that the prime minister persuade the RSS and the leadership of the extended Sangh Parivar to drop all divisive issues for the time being if not for at least a decade as Modi has suggested in his last Independence Day speech.
