A dramatic poster depicting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar standing alongside a tiger, emblazoned with the bold caption ‘tiger abhi zinda hai’ (tiger is alive), appeared outside his residence on Friday morning, coinciding with the NDA taking a strong early lead in the assembly election trends.
Cinematic in tone and crafted to project unmistakable authority, the poster quickly drew the attention of both the media and party workers.
It was installed around the same time the Election Commission began releasing the first significant updates of the day.
As per the trends on the Election Commission's website, the ruling NDA surged ahead in 111 assembly seats, while the opposition INDIA bloc was leading in 33. Among the NDA partners, the BJP led in 48 seats, JD(U) in 44, LJP (Ram Vilas) in 13 and HAM in three. On the opposition side, the RJD was ahead in 23 seats, the Congress in seven and the Vikassheel Insaan Party in one.
JD(U) workers gathered around the poster, treating it almost like an early symbol of triumph.
"'Sirf trend aaya hai, par message clear hai, Nitish ji politics ka asli tiger hain'," (the trends are only out, Nitish ji is the real tiger of Bihar politics) one party worker told a news channel as he posed beside the towering artwork.
The visual of Nitish standing composed while a tiger crouches beside him echoed a familiar political metaphor often used by JD(U) supporters whenever questions arise about his longevity in Bihar’s political arena.
Vehicles slowed down to capture the display, and several residents stepped out of their homes just to witness "the tiger poster" that was already circulating widely on social media.
As Bihar prepared for a day filled with anticipation, this single image set the narrative early: Nitish Kumar standing shoulder to shoulder with a tiger — a symbolic assertion that, for his supporters, the "tiger" remains very much alive.