The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance looked set for a resounding victory in Bihar on Thursday, with early trends showing the coalition surging ahead in more than 180 of the state’s 243 Assembly seats.
Jubilant party workers broke into celebrations at BJP and JDU offices in Patna, beating drums, smearing gulaal, bursting firecrackers and distributing jalebis as the NDA pulled firmly into the lead.
By noon, Election Commission figures indicated that the BJP was on course to become the single-largest party, leading in over 80 of the 101 seats it contested — a performance that would reinforce its dominance on the national stage and offset the dent from last year’s Lok Sabha result.
The showing also follows the party’s strong runs in Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU appeared to be reaping the benefits of full-throated backing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership. The party showed a dramatic improvement from its 2020 tally of 43 seats, leading in more than 70.
The LJP(RV), led by Chirag Paswan — who often calls himself the Prime Minister’s “Hanuman” — delivered an impressive strike rate as well, leading in over 20 of the 29 seats it contested.
In stark contrast, the RJD, which has long boasted about being the single-largest outfit in the state, was struggling, leading in fewer than 40 seats despite contesting over 140.
The Congress too appeared headed for a poor result, leading in fewer than 10 of the 61 constituencies it fought, many of which involved “friendly fights” with allies.
Should the trends hold, it would mark the second consecutive election in which the BJP outperforms its senior partner, likely fuelling fresh demands within the party for its “own chief minister”. Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, however, have so far maintained that the alliance in Bihar is “led by Nitish Kumar”, mindful of the BJP’s dependence on JD(U) and the TDP for numbers in the Lok Sabha.
Among the prominent NDA leaders ahead in their constituencies were deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary in Tarapur and Vijay Kumar Sinha in Lakhisarai. The Opposition’s CM face, leader Tejashwi Yadav, was in a ding-dong battle with the BJP’s Satish Kumar, with each taking a slim lead in different rounds of counting. Tejashwi’s brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, expelled from the RJD earlier this year, was languishing in fourth place in Mahua.
LJP(RV) MP Shambhavi Chaudhary said the results showed that “the politics of development has prevailed over the politics of hatred and falsehood”, claiming that Bihar had rejected “jungle raj” and reposed faith in the “Vikas Purush” of the state.
Union minister Nityanand Rai echoed the sentiment, declaring that “‘jungle raj’, corruption and dynasts have been wiped out”, and that the results reflected trust in the prime minister’s record over 11 years.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi said the outcome should serve as a “lesson” for rival parties, alleging the need to “find a way out to fight against EC and BJP’s ‘vote theft’ mechanism”.
On the streets of Patna, the mood outside the NDA camps was unmistakably celebratory, with workers dancing, cheering and tracking each updated trend as the alliance inched closer to a historic win.
