Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is well ahead of rivals in an election in the country's most populous state, but may fall short of an absolute majority, 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. Modi would also see success as vindication of his sudden decision in November to abolish high-denomination banknotes to rein in corruption.
The BJP would win 179 seats, according to an average of four exit polls compiled by news channel NDTV, ahead of an alliance between the ruling Samajwadi Party and the Congress party that is seen picking up 136 seats.
Thursday's exit polls also forecast a neck-and-neck race between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, where the ruling coalition, of which the BJP is a member, faces a drubbing.
Polls predicted that the BJP would retain power in Goa and take Uttarakhand from Congress.
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