Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party pulled off a surprise victory in a closely-watched contest in Haryana state, giving a boost to the ruling party after a setback in national elections earlier this year and bolstering its prospects ahead of other regional polls.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailed in two provincial elections as votes were counted on Tuesday, TV channels said, a fresh setback after it failed to win a clear majority in the general election this year.

This was also the first assembly election to be held since the federal government revoked the region's autonomy and changed the former state into a federally governed territory of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

The BJP is in the lead in the state of Haryana which borders the capital Delhi, but trails in the federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, which are seeing their first election results in a decade. The first local elections in India since Mr Modi’s party lost its outright majority in parliament,