The People’s Democratic Party in Bhutan won the country’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, paving the way for former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s return to power.

Tobgay’s party won 30 out of 47 seats in the National Assembly. The Bhutan Tendrel Party, led by former civil servant Pema Chewang, secured 17 seats, AP reported.

Three other parties, including the ruling Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa party, could not qualify for the second round of polling held on Tuesday. They were eliminated from the electoral contest in an initial round of voting in November.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Tobgay for winning the polls.

“Heartiest congratulations to my friend Tshering Tobgay and the People’s Democratic Party for winning the parliamentary elections in Bhutan,” Modi said in a tweet. “Look forward to working together again to further strengthen our unique ties of friendship and cooperation.”

The result of the elections in Bhutan are significant for India and China amid their competition for strategic influence in South Asia. Tobgay, who previously served as the prime minister between 2013 and 2018, is seen as being pro-India.

This comes amid Bhutan’s latest round of border negotiations with China. China’s long-standing “package deal” proposal to Bhutan seeks to settle the Doklam border dispute.

The package deal, which Beijing has pushed since the 1990s, will give China control of disputed areas in western Bhutan, where Doklam is located, in return for Thimphu securing the areas it claims along the northern border.

In October, incumbent Prime Minister Lotay Tshering signed a cooperation agreement with China that outlined the responsibilities of a joint technical team on the delimitation and demarcation of the boundary between the two countries.

Also read: China’s ‘package deal’ for Bhutan that worries India