NDA wave sweeps Bihar; Opposition in tatters

The Congress posted its second worst performance in Bihar’s electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its “vote chori” pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.

The scale of the Congress’s debacle was such that the party could manage to just finish ahead of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), which bagged five seats each.

The Congress tally was only better than the four seats it won in 2010, getting a vote share of only 8.75 per cent compared to the 8.17 per cent 15 years ago.

The rout of the Congress was so complete that its state president Rajesh Kumar lost to NDA’s HAM candidate Lalan Ram in Kutumba.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha won the Lakhisarai seat by 24,940 votes, defeating his nearest Congress rival Amaresh Kumar, according to the Election Commission.

Sinha polled 1,22,408 votes, while Kumar got 97,468 votes in the assembly elections held in two phases on November 6 and November 11.

Jan Suraaj Party candidate Suraj Kumar came third, getting 8,722 votes.

PM Narendra Modi says, “Today, I congratulate the Election Commission, our security forces, and the conscious voters of Bihar. The country is proud of all of you.”

“The Bihar elections have proven another thing. Now, the country’s voters, especially our young voters, take voter list purification very seriously. The youth of Bihar have also overwhelmingly supported voter list purification. And I believe that for the sanctity of democracy, every voter has their importance and rights. Now, it is the responsibility of every party to activate their parties at the polling booths and enthusiastically participate in the voter list purification work. Contribute 100%, so that voter lists can be fully purified in other places as well...”

He added that with the new government, “the NDA is now moving towards a golden journey of 25 years in Bihar. Bihar has ensured that Jungle Raj will never return to this great land of Bihar. Today’s victory belongs to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of Bihar who endured the terror of Jungle Raj for years under RJD rule. It belongs to the youth of Bihar whose future was ruined by the terror of Congress and the Red Flag people. Today, that Red Corridor, those days of terror, are history. Bihar is moving forward on the path of development, and this journey is not going to stop now...”

“Ganga flows through Bihar and reaches Bengal. Bihar has also paved the way for the BJP’s victory in Bengal. I also congratulate the brothers and sisters of Bengal. Now, together with you, the BJP will uproot jungle raj from West Bengal as well,” says PM Modi.

On NDA winning the Bihar elections, Union minister Chirag Paswan says, “... Yesterday, they (Opposition) stated that an atmosphere similar to that of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka will be created in India. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly says that Gen Z should play their role. This is provocative politics... Finding fault with every issue, blaming EVMs, and blaming officials. Had they spent as much time on their own assessment as they did on finding fault, Congress and RJD would likely have achieved something better... No Bihari tolerates personal comments that go below the limits... The Mahagathbandhan has suffered losses due to this repeatedly...”

On AIMIM winning five seats in the Bihar Elections, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi says, “I want to thank the people of Seemanchal from the bottom of my heart for making our five candidates win again... We started this fight for Seemanchal 11 years ago, and we are still fighting for justice for Seemanchal... I want to congratulate Naveen Yadav for winning the Jubilee Hills by-elections and also thank CM Revanth Reddy, who congratulated me for today’s victory in Bihar... I was expecting NDA to win big, but not as big as 200... Whatever it is, it is the verdict of the people of Bihar, and we have to accept it wholeheartedly. I congratulate Nitish Kumar as well, and if he really wants to focus on developing Seemanchal, we will have constructive cooperation... I will continue to visit Seemanchal...”

Bihar gave India “the pride of being the mother of democracy”, says Narendra Modi at a meeting of BJP workers. “Bihar has once again shown that lies lose, people’s trust wins. Bihar has made it clear that people will not support those who are out on bail.”

“Earlier, there was no election in Bihar where repolling did not take place. For instance, before 2005, repolling happened at hundreds of places. In 1995, repolling took place at more than 1500 polling stations. But as the jungle raj ended, the situation started improving, and in both phases of this election, there was no need for repolling anywhere. This time, the voting was peaceful...,” he added.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, which managed to win/lead in a mere six seats, Modi said, “I have previously warned Congress allies from this very platform that the Congress is a liability. Congress is a parasite that wants to make a comeback by swallowing the vote bank of its allies...”

“Today, the Congress has become MMC — Muslim League-Maoist-Congress — and the entire agenda of the Congress now revolves around this, and therefore, within the Congress as well, a separate faction is emerging that is uncomfortable with this negative politics...I fear that there could be another major split in the Congress...”

“Even the Congress allies are beginning to understand that the Congress is drowning everyone in its negative politics. That is why, during the Bihar elections, I said that the ‘naamdar’ of the Congress (Rahul Gandhi) is practising to drown himself and others in the Bihar elections by taking a dip in the pond.”

Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir and Nuapada in Odisha for ensuring the BJP’s victory in the by-elections. “Today is not just a victory for the NDA, it is also a victory for democracy. It is a victory for those who believe in Indian democracy,” he said.