India’s ruling party faces poll test on Modi’s home turf

Bloomberg

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party faces another challenge to retain power in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat in polls later this year in what would be a referendum on its policies including demonetization and the national sales tax.
The BJP is throwing all its resources into Gujarat to ensure the party performs well after ruling the state for 19 years. A loss — or a poor result — could set off a chain reaction and hamper Modi’s efforts to retain power in 2019.
Voting will be held in two phases on Dec. 9 and Dec. 14, while votes counting will take place on Dec. 18, along with another state Himachal Pradesh, A. K. Joti, chief election commissioner, announced in a press conference on Wednesday in New Delhi.
The elections are taking place at a time when Modi is facing discontent over his economic policies as growth slows, job losses mount, social unrest rises and traders suffer following his November move of note ban and the newly-introduced nationwide sales tax.
“Anti-incumbency and eroding credibility of the prime minister are two major factors that seem to be negatively impacting the BJP’s winning chances in Gujarat,” said Satish Misra, an analyst