BJP suffers defeat in Karnataka state elections ahead of national vote.

India's main opposition Congress party has won control of the southern Karnataka state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party, according to a near complete vote count. The defeat in Karnataka means Modi's party has lost the only southern state it has ever controlled and where its strident Hindu nationalist politics has found relatively slower reception than the rest of the country. The poll results are expected to energize the largely divided opposition that is banking on forming a united front to challenge Modi in next year's general election in which he will seek to extend his prime ministership for a third consecutive term.