Modi protest: Hundreds of thousands of Indians take to streets to oppose prime minister

Anger grows over weak farm prices and stagnant employment rate following Modi's Hindu nationalist party's recent electoral loses in three key states

India's opposition parties drew half a million supporters to Kolkata's streets for the largest show of force yet against prime minister Narendra Modi as a national election looms (AFP/Getty)

India's main opposition parties joined forces against prime minister Narendra Modi at a rally which attracted hundreds of thousands of people months ahead of elections.

The 23 regional groups said they forged a common front to stop Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which beat the main opposition Congress and regional parties in 2014.

Rural anger over weak farm prices and sluggish job creation mean Mr Modi's BJP faces a tough challenge to stay in power after electoral losses in three key states last month.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Kolkata from rural Bengal for the rally, bringing disruption to the city.

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the state of West Bengal, called on regional party leaders to join a single platform to defeat the “anti-people” government of Mr Modi, which the 64-year-old said was “nearing its end”.

A poll last month by ABP News forecast Mr Modi's party could fall about 25 seats short of a majority in national elections and Banerjee is among the few opposition leaders who could emerge as a prime ministerial candidate if the BJP loses.

Regional parties hold the key as they dominate the eastern states of West Bengal, Odisha, and the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which together send 161 members to the 543 constituencies of parliament's lower house.

Missing from Saturday's lineup was Rahul Gandhi, president of the main opposition Congress party and leaders of the left parties, reflecting tensions among opposition parties on who would be their prime ministerial candidate against Mr Modi.

Mr Gandhi sent his representatives and a letter of support.

After the formation of a strong alliance between Samajwadi and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) last week in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the lower house, Mr Modi's party faces a risk of losing elections, Mr Banerjee said.

Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, said Mr Modi had failed to fulfil his promises including job creation.

“Modi had promised to create 20 million jobs a year but after a faulty launch of national sales tax and demonetisation in 2016 more than 10 million jobs were lost,” he said.

India's unemployment rate hit 7.4 per cent in December, its highest level in 15 months, while the number of people employed fell by nearly 11 million from a year ago, a report by the Mumbai-based Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, said this month.

Politicians at the rally, whose organisers said was attended by more than a million people, said India's growth had slowed during Mr Modi's term and their first priority was to defeat him, adding a replacement would be decided after the elections.

The BJP dismissed the prospects of an opposition alliance, questioning who would lead such a coalition.

Mr Modi is expected to detail a package worth more than 1 trillion rupees ($14bn) in his last budget on 1 February, including benefits for farmers and other taxpayers.

Reuters