Sensex falls more than 300 points; power cos slump

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and Nifty fell about 1 percent, heading for a seventh consecutive session of losses as exit polls showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi facing electoral defeat in Delhi, his first state election defeat since sweeping to power last year.

The anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party is likely to win 38 seats in the 70-seat New Delhi assembly, according to the average of four opinion polls released on Saturday after the voting had ended.

For investors, the loss dents Modi's aura of electoral invincibility and raises concerns about whether the government can gain control of the upper house of the parliament, where the Bharatiya Janata Party lags behind, making efforts to pass legislation more difficult.

State elections have a bearing on seats for the upper house of parliament.

Adding to the concerns, India is due to post gross domestic product data for the first half of fiscal 2014/15 that will use a new method to recalculate growth. The data is due at 05:30 p.m.

"Delhi election result is something to look out for in the short term. However, investors are more anxious about the budget," said Suresh Parmar, head, institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.

"The fall in the past few sessions will bring valuations to a comfort zone and provide better opportunities," he said.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.98 percent at 28,435.27, while the broader Nifty fell 1.07 percent 8,568.60.

The falls matched a seven-day losing streak in November 2013.

Power stocks led the decline, with Tata Power Co Ltd losing 3.2 percent on fears that AAP may again lower power tariffs in Delhi like it did in its earlier stint. Reliance Infrastructure fell 2.8 percent.

Metal stocks declined, tracking international prices after a surprisingly weak Chinese import data fuelled worries that economic growth may be more fragile than anticipated. Tata Steel Ltd fell 2.1 percent, while JSW Steel lost 2.5 percent.

(Reporting by Indulal PM; Editing by Anand Basu)