Alliance set for ‘200 Paar’
PM predicts major split in Cong
PATNA/NEW DELHI, Nov 14:
The ruling NDA decimated the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Friday to retain power reaffirming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s enduring appeal and dealing a body blow to the Congress and ally RJD.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The massive scale of the victory of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) can be gauged from the fact that its two main constituents—BJP and JD(U)—are on course for an over 85 per cent strike rate in 101 seats each they had contested. The alliance is set for a “200 paar” win for a three-fourth majority with BJP emerging as the single largest party, according to latest results and trends at 9.30 pm.
While the BJP won 87 seats, up from 74 in 2020, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal(U) tasted success in 78 constituencies, up from 43. The majority mark in the 243-member Assembly is 122. The BJP and the JD(U) were leading in two and seven seats respectively.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) seat tally slipped to 24 from 75 and Congress bagged only six out of the 61 seats it contested, down from 19. RJD was leading in one.
Overcoming anti-incumbency, Chief Minister Kumar thanked people of the state for giving a “landslide” victory for the NDA.
“People of the state have expressed their confidence in our government by giving us a landslide mandate in the polls. For this, I bow to all the esteemed voters of the state, and express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks,” Kumar wrote in a post on X.
A mix of state and central welfare schemes, including the monetary aid to women as part of NDA’s women-centric outreach, a constant reminder of the “jungle raj” during the RJD rule by Modi and other NDA campaigners and the viability of a “double-engine” government appears to have largely contributed to their landslide victory.
Navigating the complex caste and community dynamics, NDA’s wider caste alliance that dented the Mahagatbandhan’s core vote bank, multiple welfare schemes targeted at Economically Backward Class(EBC) households, huge support from women who overwhelmingly supported the liquor ban and from young voters also helped the five-party alliance. One of the most striking features of this election was the extraordinary turnout of women voters.
The NDA also appeared to have done well in Muslim-dominated constituencies, signalling a possible change in voting pattern in these segments.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), dubbed the ‘X factor’ in the Bihar polls and whose candidates were in the fray in all but three of the seats, came a cropper.
The party, floated by the former political strategist, failed to galvanise votes in its favour, despite a high-pitched campaign and raising pressing issues such as unemployment, migration and dearth of industries.
Shocking his rivals, Kumar, an electrical engineering graduate, had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculation of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health. He is Bihar’s longest serving chief minister whilst also holding the post for his 9th term.
In the run up to the high stakes polls, Kumar, who has earned the nick name of ‘sushasan babu’ (the man of good governance), aggressively doled out benefits like hike in social security pensions and stipends for Jeevika and Aasha and Aanganwadi workers, besides the much touted ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana’, as part of which over one crore women have got Rs 10,000 each in their bank accounts.
Kumar was not in the electoral fray this time too as he has consistently taken the legislative council route to enter the state legislature.
BJP’s performance would further cement its position as the numero uno political force in the country and also offset whatever setback that might have been caused by last year’s Lok Sabha polls when the party had to rely on allies to remain in power in the Centre.
The NDA’s tally in Bihar comes in the backdrop of the BJP’s back-to-back stunning performances in Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana. Last year, BJP had won 132 of the 149 seats it had contested in Maharashtra. The strong backing to Chief Minister Kumar by Modi and his ministers during their poll campaign also appeared to have paid rich dividends for the JD(U).
The LJP(RV), headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, the self-declared “Hanuman” of the Prime Minister, which was left with only 28 candidates in the fray, with nomination papers of one of its nominees getting rejected during scrutiny, won 18 seats and was leading in one constituency.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwah’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha, both junior partners in the NDA, won five and four seats respectively. Both parties had contested six seats each. To consolidate Dalit support, the BJP banked on its two key allies—Manjhi and Paswan.
Mahagatbahndhan also struggled to retain its strongholds. The Muslim and Yadav (M-Y) combination traditionally formed the bedrock of the RJD’s support base in Bihar.
It was an embarrassing loss of face for the Congress, often seen as a “weak link” in the INDIA bloc.
Rahul Gandhi’s poll campaign against the BJP that revolved around his “Vote Chori”(vote theft) allegations failed to garner any support.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owais’s AIMIM, which has often been accused of being a “B-team” of the BJP, won five seats. The party had contested 32 seats.
Meanwhile, bypolls were also held in Anta (Rajasthan), Ghatshila (Jharkhand), Jubilee Hills (Telangana), Tarn Taran (Punjab) and Nuapada (Odisha).
The Congress and the BJP won one more seat each while the AAP and the JMM also bagged one seat each.
In Odisha’s Nuapada, BJP’s Jay Dholakia beat Ghasi Ram Majhi of the Congress by a huge margin of 83,748 votes. Jay is the son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll.
The Congress’ wins came in Anta Assembly constituency in Rajasthan and Jubilee Hills in Telangana.
In Anta, Pramod Jain Bhaya defeating his nearest rival and BJP nominee Morpal Suman by a margin of 15,612 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena was disqualified following his conviction in a criminal case.
V Naveen Yadav of the Congress won the Jubilee Hills seat defeating his nearest BRS rival Maganti Sunitha by a margin of 24,729 votes. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June.
The ruling AAP retained the Tarn Taran assembly seat in Punjab with its candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu defeating his nearest rival and SAD nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by a margin of 12,091 votes.
The Tarn Taran seat fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June.
JMM candidate Somesh Chandra Soren beat his nearest rival Babulal Soren of the BJP in the by-election to the Ghatshila assembly seat in Jharkhand by over 38,500 votes.
Somesh is the son of JMM MLA Ramdas Soren, whose death on August 15 necessitated the bypoll.
The Dampa seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Mizo National Front (MNF) legislator Lalrintluanga Sailo on July 21.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said there is “deep disappointment and anger” brewing within the Congress over the path on which its “naamdaars” are taking it on and a “major split” could hit the party ahead.
Addressing party workers and supporters at the BJP headquarters here, Modi also said the Congress has become “Muslimleegi Maowadi Congress — MMC” and its entire agenda revolves around this.
“The basis of the Congress’ politics is now just negative politics. Sometimes it gives the slogan of ‘chowkidar chor hai’, other times it wastes the time of Parliament, sometimes it attacks institutions, sometimes it raises questions on EVMs, sometimes it abuses the Election Commission, other times it makes false allegations of ‘vote chori’, divides people on caste and religious lines, and puts forward the agenda of the enemies of the country,” he said.
“The Congress has no positive vision for the country. The truth is that today the Congress has become the Muslimleegi Maowadi Congress — MMC. The Congress’ entire agenda revolves around this, so now a new faction is emerging within Congress itself, which is uncomfortable with this negative politics. There is deep disappointment and deep anger brewing within the party regarding the path on which the ‘namdaars’ of the Congress are taking the party on,” Modi said.
“I suspect there might be another major split in Congress ahead,” he said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that in the last three Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has not been able to touch three digits.
After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Assembly elections have been held in six states of the country, and in these elections, the number of MLAs of the Congress elected is less than the number of MLAs that “we have won just today”, Modi said.
The PM termed the NDA win in Bihar as a vote for pro-people governance and vowed to throw out ‘jungle raj’ from West Bengal, saying the BJP’s victory march will follow the flow of river Ganga from Bihar to Bengal.
Modi also set sights on other poll-bound states, saying the massive victory in Bihar has infused fresh energy in party workers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal where elections are due next year.
“The victory in Bihar has paved the way for the BJP’s triumph in Bengal. I want to assure the people of West Bengal that, with your support, the BJP will put an end to the jungle raj in the state as well,” he said.
The Prime Minister greeted party workers at the BJP headquarters here by waving the ‘gamchha’, the ubiquitous long cotton scarf worn by most people in Bihar and other eastern states amid chants of ‘Modi-Modi’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.
As a symbolic gesture to connect with the people of Bihar on the occasion, PM Modi wore a ‘gamchha’ with Mithila painting on it and began his speech with chants of “Chhathi Maiyya ki Jai”. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
