India's ruling party losing ground in state elections

The ruling Indian National Congress party was trailing Sunday in state assembly elections regarded as a test for general elections scheduled in 2014, dpa reported. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in three of the four states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi - where elections were held over the past month, while it was running neck-and-neck with Congress in Chhattisgarh. The new Aam Admi Party made its electoral debut and was running a close second to the BJP in Delhi, which could end up with a hung assembly. The Congress ran the outgoing governments in Delhi and Rajasthan, while the BJP is incumbent in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.