Mumbai: The rupee tumbled 45paise to close at 83.59 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 against the dollar, registering a fall of 45paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee closed at 83.14 against the US dollar. Counting of votes on Tuesday indicated disappointing results for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, which appears to be losing heavily in its strongholds of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan although it is expected to form the government with about 290 seats.

On its own, the Bharatiya Janata Party appeared to be falling below the majority mark with leads in 236 seats despite significant gains in Odisha, Telangana and Kerala, giving some solace to the party after the unexpected losses in the Hindi belt. Its rival INDIA alliance was leading in about 230 seats. In the last elections, the BJP had 303 seats on its own, while the NDA had over 350.