KOLKATA: The incumbent chief minister’s party in India’s West Bengal statehas defeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in a state election heldas the coronavirus pandemic surged to crisis levels.

Modi has been criticised for focusing on the elections instead of makingthe pandemic his top priority.

Some expert blame the federal election commission for allowing rallies andvoting in which large crowds flouted rules on social distancing andmask-wearing.

Mamata Banerjee, 66, is set to be the chief of West Bengal for the thirdtime after her Trinamool Congress party (TMC) won a two-thirds majority,taking more than 200 seats in the 294-seat state assembly, electioncommission officials said. Final counting for some seats was still underway.

Banerjee is now India’s only woman chief minister.