BENGALASM

Corrects paragraph 8 to clarify that BJP and its allies on course to control 20 states and not 22 states out of 28

By Krishna N. Das and Tora Agarwala

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party was set on Monday to record substantial victories in state elections, an outcome that could accelerate its landmark policies like uniform civil laws and infrastructure building, political leaders and analysts said.

The gains also underline that Modi's strategy of pushing economic development, giving generous handouts and appealing to the country's Hindu majority has become a sure-fire winner, including in regions long seen as opposition strongholds. That is also backed by a war chest that dwarfs the opposition's.

Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has long pushed for a Uniform Civil Code to govern civil laws, instead of the current practice that allows Indians from different religions to follow laws specific to their faiths or opt for a secular code.

The BJP is unable to push through the policy at the federal level since it lacks the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to change the constitution; but it can do so in the states it governs. Its other signature policy of rolling out infrastructure will be easier to implement with less resistance from opposition-ruled states.

Rahul Verma, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi, noted that some BJP states have already tried to come up with their own versions of the civil code. He said the party could also push ahead with other proposals such as redrawing constituencies nationwide and holding simultaneous state and national polls, both of which could favour the ruling party.

"It is not like they will act on this immediately, in the next six months to a year," Verma said. "But you may hear these conversations again. It is definite that the party will get stronger and more confident to push these ideas again."

As the Election Commission announced voting trends from last month's state elections, the BJP was on course to win the key eastern state of West Bengal and retain power in the neighbouring state of Assam. The BJP had poured resources into the Bengal election and Modi and his chief lieutenant, Home Minister Amit Shah, together addressed more than 80 rallies and roadshows in the state during the campaign.

The wins would give the party and its allies 20 of India’s 28 states and two of its three federally run territories with legislatures, a dominance unmatched since the 1960s. The main gain for the BJP from the April elections will be West Bengal, one of India's larger states which dominates the country's east, where it has long sought to take power.

Besides the almost certain win in Assam, an alliance that includes the BJP has made substantial advances in the key southern state of Tamil Nadu, although the pole position in the election there was being held by a new party headed by a film star.

These victories follow the 2024 general election, in which the BJP lost its majority in parliament and formed the government in New Delhi with the help of coalition allies.

OPPOSITION DECIMATED BY LATEST ELECTION RESULTS

BJP lawmaker Praveen Khandelwal said the state wins would boost investor confidence through greater political stability, accelerate infrastructure expansion, and improve welfare delivery. They will also let the party push for policies that will replace religion-specific civil laws.

"The Uniform Civil Code has long been part of the BJP’s ideological and policy agenda," Khandelwal told Reuters. "With more BJP-ruled states, state-level initiatives toward UCC, like drafting committees, consultations, or partial legal harmonisation, become more likely."

Governments in West Bengal and the southern state of Tamil Nadu that were strongly opposed to the BJP are on their way out, according to the voting trends, a crushing blow to the anti-Modi alliance.

"The inability of the opposition to mobilise and build a stable, ideologically driven base has been a major weakness,” said Neelanjan Sircar, associate professor at Ahmedabad University in the state of Gujarat.

The opposition and some analysts say the BJP’s success reflects factors such as gerrymandering in Assam and revision of electoral rolls in Bengal, which left millions off the voters’ list, many of them Muslims.

Opposition parties say a significant number of those excluded were their supporters. The Election Commission, however, has said the exercise followed established procedures aimed at removing duplicate, deceased, or relocated voters, among other categories.

But analysts also said Modi's charisma and his platform of economic growth twinned with a muscular pro-Hindu agenda were proving to be unbeatable.

"The BJP have a charismatic national leader, they are a very organised party, they have a resource advantage that many parties lack, and a clear ideological narrative - all of which help mobilise sections of the Hindu population," Verma said.

During the 2024/25 financial year ending March 31, the BJP declared a total income of 67.69 billion rupees ($712 million), compared with 9.18 billion rupees for the main opposition Congress party, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms.

The BJP’s main campaign pledges in Bengal and Assam included deporting what it described as illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh.

The BJP also promised handouts, including monthly assistance of 3,000 rupees for women and unemployed youth, in Bengal. Since the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Modi government has provided free food rations to more than 800 million of India’s 1.42 billion people, a programme analysts say has helped shore up support among poorer voters.

“The party’s so-called ‘lost ground’ is a baseless argument built by the opposition,” said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, referring to the 2024 general election result. “There is no challenge to either the BJP or the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

($1 = 95.0687 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi and Tora Agarwala in Guwahati; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

((Krishna.Das@tr.com; https://x.com/krishnadasassam;))

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Bengal & Assam Company Ltd BAAC.BO:

• BENGAL & ASSAM COMPANY DEC-QUARTER CONSOL PROFIT 1.56 BILLION RUPEES

• BENGAL & ASSAM COMPANY DEC-QUARTER CONSOL TOTAL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 5.31 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE4Psx9y

Further company coverage: BAAC.BO

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of JK Tyre JKIN.NS drop as much as 5% to 297.65 rupees, lowest since Oct. 2023

** Tyre maker reports lower profit for second straight qtr on weak demand from truck and bus customers, margin hit from higher raw material costs

** Trading volume on the day is heaviest in nearly two months, with volumes 4.3x the 30-day avg

** JKIN is rated "buy" on avg by four brokerages, median PT is 490 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock last down 2.6%, taking YTD drop to ~21%; broader Nifty 500 .NIFTY500 has dropped ~2% YTD

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS drop 2%, their biggest one-day fall since Oct. 25

** Tyre maker's Q2 consol profit falls 44% Y/Y, its first in two years, hurt by weak tyre sales to car, bus and truck makers

** JKIN sees busiest day in over 2 weeks, with over 756,000 shares traded

** Analysts' avg rating on stock is "Buy" vs "Sell" on peer MRF MRF.NS

** Their median PT on JKIN is 525 rupees - LSEG

** Stock down 4.4% YTD vs 7% decline in MRF

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru)

((aleefjahan.cs@thomsonreuters.com))

** Shares of India's JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS drop 4%, set to slide for a fourth consecutive session, if losses hold

** Fall amid broader weakness; Nifty 50 .NSEI sheds ~3% .BO

** Co's consol Q1 rev falls 2%, net profit rises 37%

** Peers CEAT CEAT.NS and MRF MRF.NS decline 5% and 1.8% on the day

** Co, CEAT rated "buy" on an average while MRF rated "sell" - LSEG data

** Day's drop trims stock's YTD gains to 4.2%

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS rise 5.7% to 427.6 rupees

** Stock on track for best day since Jan 23, if gains hold

** Co's Q4 profit climbed ~56% YoY

** Rivals MRF MRF.NS, CEAT CEAT.NS and Apollo Tyres APLO.NS reported drop in their Q4 profit

** MRF stock down 0.3% on the day, CEAT and APLO up 0.2% and 1.1%, respectively

* LSEG data

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru)

((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS are down ~5% at 417 rupees, hitting their lowest level since Jan. 18, 2024

** The tyre manufacturer said it received tax notice of 87.8 mln rupees ($1.1 million)

** Separately, co's unit received tax notice of 50.3 mln rupees

** In 2024, stock has marginally outperformed peers

** JKIN up ~5% YTD, vs a ~2 rise in both Ceat CEAT.NS and Apollo Tyres APLO.NS

($1 = 82.9080 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin)

((nishit.navin@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd JKIN.NS rise as much as 2.6% to 515.95 rupees

** Emkay Global retains "buy" on co; TP of 700 rupees unchanged

** Management at investor meeting said, co accelerating focus on high-growth, high-margin passenger car radial (PCR) tyres via well-timed capex, largely in the sports utility vehicle tyres segment

** Co expects shift in buying preferences, along with fleet management solutions to act as an incremental growth lever - Emkay

** "Sustained margins and accelerated deleveraging to drive re-rating," says Emkay

** YTD JKIN shares up 28.7%

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

((meenakshi.maidas@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS up nearly 12% to all-time high

** Co seeks shareholder approval to raise funds of 5 bln rupees ($60 mln) via qualified institutional placement (QIP)

** Trading volume nearly 6x its 30-day moving avg

** Avg rating of four analysts on JKIN at "hold"; median PT is 396 rupees vs current price of 391.25 rupees - LSEG data

** Including session's move, stock more than doubled so far this year

($1 = 83.0229 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

((kashish.tandon@thomsonreuters.com))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS rise as much as 14% to record high of 351.3 rupees

** Stock set to rise for a sixth straight session, if gains hold

** Co said its Sept-qtr consol net profit jumped nearly 5 times to 2.42 bln rupees ($29.09 million), rev from ops rose 3.8%

** More than 6.6 mln shares change hands by 9:48 a.m. IST, 2.2x 30-day avg

** JKIN last up 8.9%, extending YTD gains to ~82%

($1 = 83.1840 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com ;))

** Shares of India's JK Tyre JKIN.NS rise as much as 7.7% to 272.30 rupees

** Emkay Global analysts initiated coverage on tyre maker with "buy" and 12 month target price (TP) of 415 rupees, a 44% premium from current price of 286.65 rupees

** Says JKIN has been outperforming peers over past 12 qtrs,

** Better competitive standing, premiumization efforts, cost controls to drive FY26 margins to 14% from 12% in Q1 - brokerage

** Says JKIN's stock price can potentially double over 3 years

** About 2.3 mln shares change hands as of 11:33 a.m. IST, 2x 30-day avg

** YTD JKIN shares up 57%, outperforming 13% gains in Nifty 500 index .NIFTY500

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

((Sethuraman.NR@thomsonreuters.com; (+91 8061822737); Reuters Messaging: nallur.sethuraman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd JKIN.NS rise as much as 6.3% to an all-time high of 281.7 rupees

** Tyre manufacturer says June-qtr profit more than quadrupled y/y to 1.54 bln rupees ($18.60 mln) as total expenses declined ~2%

** Relative strength index (RSI) above 70, indicating stock is overbought

** Trading volume at ~4.3 mln shares as of 1:05 p.m. IST, 1.5x the 30-day avg

** Stock up ~50% so far this year

($1 = 82.7860 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru)

((Biplobkumar.das@thomsonreuters.com))

** Shares of JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS rise as much as 5.1% to all-time high of 218 rupees

** Stock sees largest intraday pct climb since May 5

** Co completes first phase of capacity expansion of its radial tyre manufacturing facility, with an investment of 3.12 bln rupees ($38 mln)

** Says, expansion will increase plant's annual production capacity by 31% to 5.1 mln units per annum

** Adds, second phase of expansion expected to be completed by April 2024 with additional investment of 6.17 bln rupees

** Almost 1.8 mln shares change hands as of 10:07 a.m. IST, 0.9X the 30-day moving average

** Stock up 12.6% YTD as of last close

($1 = 82.0380 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru)

((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com))

June 28 (Reuters) - Bengal & Assam Company Ltd BAAC.BO:

• APPROVED SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT AMONGST UMANG DAIRIES, PANCHMAHAL PROPERTIES AND CO

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE9KkLs3

Further company coverage: BAAC.BO

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

May 29 (Reuters) - Bengal & Assam Company Ltd BAAC.BO:

• DIVIDEND OF 25 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE1Kwzcf

Further company coverage: BAAC.BO

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

BENGALURU, May 17 (Reuters) - India's JK Tyre & Industries Ltd JKIN.NS on Wednesday reported a nearly three-fold rise in fourth-quarter profit, as raw material costs fell and domestic demand saw a boost.

The tyre-maker's consolidated net profit rose to 1.08 billion rupees ($13.2 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 402 million rupees a year earlier, it said in an exchange filing.

The company, which supplies to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS and Tata Motors Ltd TAMO.NS, posted an almost 10% growth in revenue from operations.

Rubber prices have softened 3% from the December quarter, when the effects of easing prices had already begun reflecting in the company's bottomline.

Its cost of raw materials fell more than 4% to 21.28 billion rupees in fourth quarter, compared with a 21% rise the tyre-maker reported last year.

"We remain optimistic on the tyre industry growth path in the coming year, buoyed by an uptick in economic activities and the big push in infrastructure growth," the company said in a statement.

Indian automakers had recorded higher sales in the March quarter as consumers snapped up passenger and commercial vehicles ahead of price increases on implementation of tighter fuel emission norms.

Rival tyre-makers MRF Ltd MRF.NS, CEAT Ltd CEAT.NS, and Apollo Tyres Ltd APLO.NS all reported between a two- and five-time rise in quarterly profit.

Shares of JK Tyre settled 0.4% higher ahead of its results, taking YTD gains to 8.4%.

($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)

((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com;))