Bihar for NDA, big haar for MGB: Nitish does it again; alliance returns with crushing 202 seats

PATNA: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a stunning landslide successful Bihar, with the governing conjugation headed by main curate Nitish Kumar bagging 202 of 243 assembly seats successful a hugely one-sided result that underscores the JDU boss's governmental resilience contempt 2 decades successful office, and PM Narendra Modi's sway implicit voters, portion deflating the Grand Alliance's Rahul Gandhi-led run against "vote theft".The overwhelming triumph puts BJP connected a steadfast footing up of approaching encounters, particularly successful West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.The outcome, which surpassed NDA's ain expectations, is seen arsenic a pro-incumbency ballot conveying gratitude to Nitish Kumar, who enactment the authorities backmost connected way aft a wide perceived 15 years of anarchy, and marks a "coming of age" infinitesimal for women voters who turned retired successful immense numbers to reciprocate Nitish-led NDA govt's measures to empower them utilizing a full spectrum of means.

It besides speaks to the occurrence of a strategy to overpower the numerically robust Muslim-Yadav operation with a broader structure covering "most backward classes", "non-Yadav backwards", highly backward classes, and important sections of Dalits.It was the archetypal clip that women - including perchance those from the Yadav assemblage - successful a supposedly "socially backward" authorities made themselves felt arsenic an autarkic electoral category.

The landslide should perchance enactment Nitish Kumar connected the mode to becoming 1 of India's longest-serving CMs. Encouraged by largest enactment status, galore successful BJP whitethorn inquire it to assertion Bihar CM's chair Bihar voters disregarded concerns astir CM Nitish Kumar's wellness and past governmental flip-flops to ballot overwhelmingly for him. JDU's people of 85, which would person looked improbable aft the underwhelming 43 it managed 5 years ago, was facilitated besides by cleanable coordination with BJP.

BJP, fuelled by Modi's popularity successful the state, has for the archetypal clip emerged arsenic the azygous largest enactment successful the state, an accomplishment that whitethorn promote galore successful the enactment to involvement assertion to the main ministership.

BJP was besides the glue for the coalition.Other members of the NDA confederation - Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, Union curate Jitanram Manjhi's HAM and Upendra Kushwaha's RLM - contributed to the thumping triumph with spectacular onslaught rates.In contrast, the rival RJD-led Mahagathbandhan fared poorly. The Tejashwi-led RJD hardly escaped the governmental ignominy of slumping beneath its poorest people of 22, which it had crashed to successful 2010.

Congress, successful keeping with what has go a pattern, again fared disastrously, plumbing to an embarrassing single-digit people of 6. CPI-ML's streak of successes since 2020 besides came to a halt, with the leftist enactment winning 2.Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM has secured 5 seats, but the value of its occurrence stretches beyond the numbers successful that it reflects a yearning among Muslims to diverseness options beyond "secular" options led by non-Muslims.The coronation of Tejashwi, a CM-in-waiting for 5 years now, has been further delayed. He present indispensable contend with the hazard of BJP making overtures to Yadavs, with RJD having been retired of govt for astir 20 years now. Nitish has ne'er dropped his effort to assertion the Muslim ballot and whitethorn redouble his efforts.In presumption of nationalist politics, the Gandhi-led Congress is the bigger loser, with his "vote theft" assertion not getting immoderate traction with Bihar voters. Congress responded to the daze by sticking to its guns. But it whitethorn travel nether unit from wrong to revisit the drafting board.The biggest letdown, however, was Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party drew a blank, proving yet again that a palmy vocation successful governmental consultancy does not automatically construe into one's ain governmental success.