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The rupee tumbled 45 paise to close at 83.59 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as the ruling BJP is unlikely to muster an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections.

Besides, a massive sell-off in domestic equities and a strong greenback against major currencies overseas added to the gloom, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 83.25 and oscillated between a high of 83.23 and a low of 83.59 against the greenback during the session.

The domestic currency finally closed at 83.59 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 45 paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee closed at 83.14 against the US dollar.

“The rupee depreciated…today as domestic markets fell sharply amid uncertainty over election results outcome. This may have also led to some sell-off by foreign investors. The US dollar recovered from yesterday’s losses on the weak Euro, which fell on disappointing employment data. The US dollar fell on Monday on weaker than expected ISM manufacturing PMI and construction spending,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.17 per cent higher at 104.25.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.88 per cent to USD 76.89 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 4,389.73 points, or 5.74 per cent, to close at 72,079.05. The broader NSE Nifty tumbled 1,379.40 points or 5.93 per cent to 21,884.50.

Foreign investors were net buyers of Indian equities on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 6,850.76 crore on a net basis. FIIs bought shares worth Rs 23,451.26 crore and sold equities worth Rs 16,600.50 crore in the cash segment.

New Delhi:

The BJP’s Central Election Committee on Monday held its second meeting to decide on the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha elections as its senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went through the list of probables for several states to make final choices.

The states, which were tipped to come up for discussion, included Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana.

Ahead of the meeting, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala held talks with BJP president J P Nadda for the distribution of seats among the two allies in the state.

Though a section of Haryana BJP leaders has been opposed to the alliance, the party seems to be weighing its options. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the previous elections in 2019. The JJP had allied with the party after the assembly polls.

The BJP has joined hands with a number of parties across the country in the run-up to the general elections, expected to be held in April-May, as it eyes a bigger majority.

The Telugu Desam Party is the latest to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, and the national party has also been in talks with Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal.

The BJP has so far named its candidates for 195 seats spread across 16 states and two union territories. However, two of them, Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh and Upendra Rawat, withdrew after their choices sparked controversies.

The party’s brain trust, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to draw the lists of probables before the CEC takes a final call.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)