Indian PM Modi eyes victory in biggest state election test

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will learn on Saturday whether his popularity is sufficient to clinch a win for his party in the country's most populous state, where its sights are set on an absolute majority to consolidate its position.

Modi campaigned for more than two months to win the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the most important election he has faced since triumphing in the 2014 general election.

As the campaign 'face' of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Modi, and his election strategist Amit Shah, can take credit if they win - but may face a backlash from sidelined party elders if they come up short.

"The results will redefine the prime minister's political destiny and his future course of action," an aide to Modi in the capital, New Delhi, told Reuters.

Post-election surveys suggest Modi has done enough to come first in Uttar Pradesh, home to one in six Indians, but may fall short of an outright majority in the 403-seat state assembly.

The exit polls, which are often wrong in India, also put the BJP ahead in three of four other states that will declare election outcomes on Saturday.