Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vindicated . In the official vote tallies out March 11 for a set of five critical state elections, his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won key victories. The most important of these was held in India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, where BJP secured 325 out of 403 seats. This marked a massive defeat for the Samajwadi Party, which allied with BJP competitor Indian National Congress and won only 54 seats. The BJP also swept the state of Uttarakhand, with 56 out of 70 seats and one seat outstanding but favoring BJP. The states of Manipur, Punjab and Goa also went to the polls. In the run-up to these massive elections, Modi made a number of risky moves to shore up his support base. In September, he launched a surgical military strike into Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to a cross-border attack.