BJP Dominates Arunachal Pradesh, Local Party Sweeps Sikkim

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained control in Arunachal Pradesh, winning 46 out of 60 seats, while the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha secured 31 of 32 seats in Sikkim. The results were seen as a curtain raiser to the national election results. Analysts suggest regional wins may not directly impact national outcomes.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has won the regional vote in Arunachal Pradesh, a state bordering China, while a local party swept to power in Sikkim, a Himalayan state, officials and politicians said on Sunday. Provincial elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim were held on April 19, simultaneously with the first phase of the national polls.

The BJP comfortably retained power in Arunchal Pradesh by winning 46 of the 60 seats. Modi on social media X said the people of Arunachal Pradesh had given "an unequivocal mandate to politics of development".

A senior BJP politician Ashok Singhal said the results were a "curtain raiser" ahead of national election results that will be declared on Tuesday. "This is just the trailer ahead of the real show on June 4. The massive victory that PM Modi will win has started with Arunachal Pradesh," he said.

Politicians and analysts say state elections do not always influence the outcome of the general elections but exit polls on Saturday projected a big win for Modi's alliance national polls. In Sikkim, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha - a regional party that allied with the BJP for national polls in 2019 - won by a landslide, securing 31 of the 32 seats in the state assembly.

Neither the BJP nor the national opposition Congress party won any seats in Sikkim. (Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Hugh Lawson)