India's ruling party appeared set to win two state elections and was leading in a third on Monday, defying predictions of a political battering after both an economic slowdown and the militant attacks on Mumbai. Counting went on for five state elections, mostly in central and west India. Final counting was due by late Monday and results could still change, with factors such as the need for winning parties to secure coalitions to govern. The elections come before national elections in early 2009 that will pit a ruling Congress-led coalition against an opposition alliance led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A blow for bjp The BJP, buoyant after a string of state election wins in the last year, had expected a clean sweep of the four biggest elections – the western state of Rajasthan, the central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the capital, Delhi. “This is a reality check for the BJP,” said Swapan Dasgupta, a political analyst with links to the BJP. Mumbai attacks had little political impact Some analysts thought that the Mumbai attacks would have led to a political battering of Congress. The government has been widely criticised for security and intelligence lapses. “I am very much surprised. I thought the Mumbai attack would have some effect on the elections,” said Kuldip Nayar, a historian and political expert. Some analysts said that the attacks could have rallied voters behind the government of the day, as can often happen in times of crisis. ‘Terror' election plank fails Voters may have punished the BJP for trying to make political capital out of the attacks in Mumbai. The BJP had taken out full page adverts after the attacks slamming Congress for failing to defend the nation. “The BJP's terror plank hasn't worked. People have started to see through it. Ironically it backfired after the most horrific terror attacks,” said political analyst Amulya Ganguli. Local governance counts Some analysts say the voters have rewarded state chief ministers who have performed well, forgetting national issues like security, terrorism and inflation. “It shows the maturity of voters. They may not like Congress nationally but they have not been influenced by events like the attacks in Mumbai. They have voted for good local leaders,” said Yashwant Deshmukh, head of C
