UP ELECTION RESULT 2017 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is well ahead of rivals in an election in the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, but may fall short of an absolute majority, four major exit polls showed on Thursday.
Victory for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 220 million people, would boost his chances of winning the 2019 general election and underscore his popularity after he made himself the face of the party's campaign.
The prime minister would also see success as vindication of his sudden decision in November to abolish high-denomination banknotes to rein in corruption.
The move was seen as politically risky, because most transactions in India are carried out in cash and millions of Indians were forced to join long queues outside banks to deposit their old bills or get hold of new ones.
Indian elections are notoriously hard to call, and polls taken before and after voting are often wrong. Pollsters were left red-faced in 2015 after mistakenly predicting a BJP win in the state of Bihar.
Results in Uttar Pradesh, as well as four other state ballots, will be announced on Saturday.(READ MORE)
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