Modi's party heads for victory in Maharashtra state election while opposition wins Jharkhand

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party headed for a victory Saturday in state elections in politically significant Maharashtra while the opposition won mineral-rich Jharkhand state.

Polling in the two states are seen as a test of Modi's popularity after his party returned to power in June national elections but was forced to form a coalition government with help from regional partners.

India’s Election Commission said Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have already won 183 of 288 seats and were leading in another 48 seats in Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state and home to the country's financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai.

The opposition Congress party and its allies have won 50 of 81 seats and were leading in another four seats in eastern Jharkhand state, according to the commission. It said vote counting was nearing completion and final results were expected later on Saturday.

Modi's BJP and a Hindu nationalist ally currently rule Maharashtra, where Hindus constitute nearly 80% and Muslims 11.5% of its 126 million people. An opposition alliance, including the Congress party, is in power in eastern Jharkhand state.

The BJP has used slogans such as, “If you divide, then you will die,” and “If we are united, then we are safe,” to attract majority Hindu votes. The opposition accused it of trying to polarize voters along Hindu-Muslim religious lines.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi from Congress party, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, is set to make her debut in Parliament after winning the race against a Communist Party candidate by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes in the Wayanad seat in southern Kerala state.

She contested a special election after her brother Rahul, who was elected in two constituencies in June, had to vacate one. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is already in Parliament.

The BJP had hoped to attract women with a plan that provides 1,500 rupees ($18) a month to over 20 million women in the 21-65 age group whose annual family income is less than 250,000 rupees ($3,010). The Congress party promised women double that amount and free transportation in government buses.

The opposition also hoped to capitalize on the simmering disaffection with high youth unemployment, inflation and low crop prices during the BJP’s rule.

In September, Congress was able to secure votes in India’s insurgency-wracked Jammu and Kashmir after a 10-year gap. But Modi’s BJP regained momentum in October and won the Haryana state election even though pollsters had predicted an easy victory for Congress.

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters shower confetti and flower petals as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, center, arrives to address them at the party headquarters after wining the state elections in politically significant Indian state of Maharashtra, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo)

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters shower confetti and flower petals as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, center, arrives to address them at the party headquarters after wining the state elections in politically significant Indian state of Maharashtra, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo)

Bhartiya Janata Party worker celebrates after leading in Maharashtra state assembly elections outside party office in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Bhartiya Janata Party workers celebrates after leading in Maharashtra state assembly elections in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

A supporter of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha waves party flag while others burn firecrackers as they celebrate their party's win in state assembly election in Ranchi, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar)

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, center, raises a fist at the Bhartiya Janata Party office in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Bhartiya Janata Party workers celebrates after leading in Maharashtra state assembly elections outside party office in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

A California infant has died and at least 10 other people have been sickened in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that include chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank and pork hock, federal health officials reported Friday.

Yu Shang Food, Inc., of Spartanburg, South Carolina, has recalled more than 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry products tied to the outbreak, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Some products were initially recalled on Nov. 9.

The foods were shipped to retail locations nationwide and available online, and illnesses have been reported in four states. The problem was discovered in October after routine tests detected listeria in the foods and the production environment.

Of the 11 people sickened, nine were hospitalized, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said. A California woman who was pregnant with twins was sickened and both infants died, the CDC said, but listeria was only found in a sample from one of the infants, so that child and the mother were included in the count but the other infant wasn't.

Interviews with people who were sickened and laboratory findings pointed to the Yu Shang Food products.

Although the foods have been recalled, some may still be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers. The products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase. Refrigerators, containers and other surfaces that may have touched the foods should be cleaned and sanitized.

People get sick with listeria poisoning when they eat foods contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms can be mild and include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious illness can include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

Listeria poisoning is tricky, because symptoms can start quickly, within a few hours or days after eating contaminated food. But they also can take weeks or up to three months to show up. Those most vulnerable to getting sick include the very young, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.

A different listeria outbreak tied to recalled Boar’s Head deli meats has ended, CDC officials said this week. That outbreak killed 10 people this summer and sickened dozens of others.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - This illustration, of an artistic recreation that was based upon scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imagery, depicts a three-dimensional (3D), computer-generated image of a grouping of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. (Jennifer Oosthuizen/CDC via AP, File)