The benchmark BSE Sensex was nearly 350 points down on Tuesday as early election trends showed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to lose ground in the three Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

A day after the shock resignation of Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel, the Sensex opened at 34,584.13 against Monday’s close of 34,959.72 points. At 9:59am, the index was at 34,609.76, a drop of 354.08 points, or 1.01%.

The Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange traded at 10,346.141.55 points down from the previous close. 90 points,

The rupee slumped 1.6% in early trading in Mumbai, while yields on 10-year sovereign bonds jumped 12 basis points to 7.71%.

There were apprehensions that markets were bracing for a deep dive on Tuesday, a day after crashing over the abrupt resignation of Patel, and in anticipation of assembly election results from five states.

Stocks, bonds and the rupee fell on Monday after exit polls of assembly elections in five states projected a likely setback for the BJP.

On Tuesday, election result trends from five states indicated that the BJP was locked in a close fight with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, while the opposition party was well ahead in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Telangana’s ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi looked set to retain power, and Mizoram’s Opposition Mizo National Front was surging ahead, according to the trends.