Modi party wins India's biggest state, strengthens grip on power

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate the Assam results in Imphal on March 11, 2017

New Delhi (AFP) - Narendra Modi's party won a landslide victory in India's most populous state on Saturday in a massive vote of confidence for the prime minister halfway into his first term.

Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a surprise absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh in the north, which is home to 220 million people and seen as a key indicator of national politics.