In a major loss of face, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat to the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi state elections Tuesday, as voters opted to re-elect the regional party. The elections were partly seen as a referendum on Modi's contentious new citizenship law, which marginalizes Muslims. But the drubbing in the Delhi poll also underlines voters' disenchantment with a worsening economy. Growth in the current financial year ending in March is expected to hit a decade low of just 5%, down from a peak of 8.2% in the financial year ending March 2016, and recover only slightly in 2020. The slowing economy could also have a ripple effect on demand in the world's third-largest crude oil consumer, potentially compounding the downward pressure on an oil market already reeling from plummeting Chinese demand as a result of the coronavirus.
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