The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed 200 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly elections. A huge success. With this, the Grand Alliance was effectively wiped out.
The gains made at the start of the election quickly turned into a massive breakthrough and the Nitish Kumar-led alliance was on the verge of its strongest showing in the state.
As soon as the counting of votes started at 8 am, the postal ballots turned in favor of the NDA. Within hours, the trends showed the BJP taking a huge lead over the JD(U), which had demanded an equal seat share. The saffron party’s strong performance has led to speculations about who will be the “Big Brother” in the alliance.
The election turned out to be a disaster for the opposition. Tejashwi Yadav‘s RJD, which emerged as the single largest party last time, was crushed by the NDA wave, losing more than half of its seats. Congress again struggled, cementing its status as the weakest link in the grand alliance. Prashant Kishore’s Jana Sooraj Party, which was touted in some quarters to be a ‘game changer’, failed to make any impact.
Although exit polls had predicted a slight lead for the NDA, the magnitude of the victory exceeded most predictions with the BJP and JD(U) making huge gains. With the BJP outperforming its ally, attention has turned to the next big question: Will Nitish Kumar be sworn in as chief minister for a record 10th term, or will the BJP try to claim the chief ministership?
Election Result: Latest 10 Key Points
1. NDA strengthens its lead in Bihar. The BJP won 80 seats and the JD(U) 67, giving the alliance a 147 victory. RJD is trailing with 20 seats, LJP(RV) 16 and Congress 6. Smaller parties like AIMIM and Hams have had a few victories. With the result decided in 205 seats, the NDA is poised for a decisive victory.
2. Despite high hopes, Prashant Kishore’s party failed to win any seats in Bihar and most of the candidates are likely to lose their bankroll. Kishore had predicted that the JD(U) “can’t win more than 25 seats”, but the party is poised to cross 80 seats, its best performance since 2010. This is a major blow to leadership ambitions for Kishor, who was a renowned strategist behind many initiatives.
3. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) lags behind as BJP emerges as “Big Brother” in NDA. Strong support from Modi and Union ministers boosted the alliance. Junior partners Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM (HAM) and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM (RLM) also showed strong gains.
4. In the grand alliance camp, RJD is the only party to reach double digits with 20 wins. Congress won 6 seats. Left parties like CPI(M) and CPI(ML)(L) have a lead of 1-2 seats each. Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are leading in one seat each.
5. Lalu Yadav’s son Tej Pratap who formed his own party (Jan Shakti Janata Dal) conceded defeat in Mahwah. He appreciated the voters of Bihar for voting for good governance. But it is a turning point that Tej Pratap’s estranged brother Tejashwi Yadav has maintained a clear lead in Raghopur.
6. If trends hold, Nitish Kumar, who was written off by many before the campaign, may return as Chief Minister for a record fifth term. But with the BJP once again outperforming the JDU, the pressure on the chief ministerial post is inevitable. Meanwhile, BJP and JDU workers celebrated by beating drums, bursting firecrackers and shouting slogans. JD(U) supporters held up posters saying “Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai” (Tiger is still alive).
7. NDA’s dominant performance indicates ‘Nimo’ (Nitish Kumar + Narendra Modi) wave. With the support of record women voters, JDU chief Nitish Kumar’s social welfare schemes have boosted the party in all major constituencies. Prime Minister Modi launched an aggressive campaign, intensifying criticism of RJD’s ‘Jungle Raj’.
8. Prime Minister Modi termed the NDA’s historic victory as a “tremendous destiny”. Highlighting women and youth, he said the old “MY” (Muslim-Yadav) formula has been replaced by a new, positive MY – Mahila (Women) and Youth (Youth) – whose aspirations and dreams have overturned the politics of appeasement.
9. In a dramatic turnaround in Bihar election counting, Tejashwi Yadav retained his seat in Raghopur assembly constituency. He secured 1.18 lakh votes in the 32nd and final round of counting, winning by 14,532 votes against BJP’s Satish Kumar. Satish Kumar got 1.04 lakh votes.
10. Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) surprised everyone by winning 17 seats and leading in 2 more seats to take the total to 19 seats. Calling himself the Prime Minister’s “Hanuman”, Chiragin’s strong comeback gives him considerable political clout, possibly even claiming the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
