'BJP, but...': How English newspapers reported Maharashtra, Haryana poll results

The Indian Express ran a short, but thought-provoking lead headline - BJP, but... - on its front page. The newspaper reported that BJP lost some ground in both states.

It published two interesting stories on the front page. One on Rahul Gandhi's silence on election and the other on the impact of Article 370 in the elections.

"With the results in, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, only the second Chief Minister in Maharashtra in 47 years after Vasantrao Naik to complete the full five-year term, conceded his party’s failure to contain “rebels” — at least 30 rebels of the BJP and Sena upset their calculations. He said the people have given the alliance a decisive mandate to form the government for a second consecutive term," The Indian Express reported.

'Regional roadbump slows BJP juggernaut,' was Times of India's lead headline. The newspaper reported that BJP is eyeing independents because of a hung house in Haryana, and Fadnavis is set for second term but Uddhav wants equal share in government.

"Given the make-up of the House, JJP chief Dushyant Chautala seemed poised to play “kingmaker”, but BJP has moved quickly to tie up the support of Independents to reach the magic figure of 46 seats and retain power. HLP chief and Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda and Rania MLA Ranjit Singh have extended support to BJP," The Times of India reported on Haryana election.

The Telegraph came up with a hard-hitting headline. 'Abrogated. Arrogance 370,' read the lead headline. It reported that the message from assembly polls was that people cannot live by Article 370 alone.

"Wake up and fight. That seems the message to the groggy Opposition from the voters of Maharashtra and Haryana, who have given the BJP victories by margins much narrower than most people expected. While Maharashtra has resurrected a demoralised Opposition from the rubble, Haryana has delivered the BJP a firm lesson that bad governance cannot be rewarded just because of the lack of a credible alternative," The Telegraph reported.

The Hindu's matter-of-fact headline read, 'BJP-Sena win in Maharashtra, hung house in Haryana.' It also reported Amit Shah's claim that BJP would stake claim to form government in Haryana and Uddhav Thackeray's 50:50 power-sharing formula.

"Contrary to nearly all exit poll projections, the ruling BJP picked up just 40 seats in the Haryana Assembly elections and looked to seven independents and 10 MLAs of the debutant Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) to hang on to power in the 90-member House. The Congress put up a surprisingly robust performance, winning 31 seats, while the JJP displaced the Indian National Lok Dal as Haryana’s regional force and heir to the politics of Haryana strongman Devi Lal," reported The Hindu.

Hindustan Times reported the poll results with a headline 'BJP wins, opposition rises.' It reported that opposition parties put up a creditable fight though they were written off by most exit pollsters.

"But defying most expectations, the BJP failed to cross the halfway mark in Haryana, with the state throwing up a hung assembly. This left some uncertainty about who will form the next government and raised questions about the future of incumbent chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, although analysts said it was likely that the party would eventually form the government with the assistance of independents, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), or other smaller parties," Hindustan Times reported.