Despite serious efforts by the leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, they failed to reach an agreement on pre-poll seat-sharing in Haryana.

The loss, which saw the BJP secure 48 out of 90 seats, was a stark contrast to Congress’s 37, leaving many questioning the party’s decision to contest the elections alone.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed for a surprise election victory in Haryana state on Tuesday, reinforcing its popularity in the northern heartland a few months after stumbling in national elections.

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared on course for a surprise win on Tuesday in polls in the northern state of Haryana, but was trailing the opposition in the first elections in a decade in troubled Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

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,

DK Suresh, attributed Congress's success in J&K to a strong mandate from the people. However, in Haryana, he cited overconfidence in the election process as the reason for the party's defeat. Suresh expects the party's high command to thoroughly discuss and analyze the loss and lapses.