A day after bypoll results were announced, the Centre on Wednesday announced excise duty cuts on petrol by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 10. By late Wednesday night, NDA-governed Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and announced additional cuts.

The announcements are expected to give BJP a moral high ground going into the state elections next year, at a time when it is facing flak from Opposition on price-rise, high fuel rates and farmers’ protests in some north Indian states, among other issues.