JD(U) supporters celebrate as the NDA leads during the counting of votes of the Bihar Assembly elections, in Patna, on Friday.
credit: PTI Photo
The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power and it did so in the most dominant manner, by winning 202 out of the total 243 seats, securing a vote share of more than 44 %.
Among the main NDA parties, the BJP won 89 seats out of the total 101 seats it contested, securing a total vote share of 20.08%. The JD(U) which contested in 101 seats, won a total of 85 seats, securing 19.25% of the vote share. Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV), which contested in 28 seats, won in 19 seats, with a 4.97 % vote share.
During the 2020 elections, the BJP garnered a vote share of 19.46%, winning 74 out of the total 110 seats it contested. JD(S) won 43 out of the 115 seats it contested with a vote share of 15.39%.
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The victory in Bihar polls, which were held in two phases amid alleged irregularities in revision of electoral rolls by the Election Commission, is also significant as many see it as a prelude to assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam, scheduled to be held in the next six months.
Celebrations erupted at the offices of BJP and JD(U) here, situated across the street from each other, with workers playing drums, bursting firecrackers and chanting slogans in praise of their respective leaders.
In front of the residence of the Chief Minister, the JD(U)’s 75-year-old national president, party workers posed for photographs holding aloft posters with the caption "Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai".
State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal remarked, good humouredly, "of course, the stature of Nitish Kumar is higher than that of a tiger. And we are confident that these trends will be converted into results”.
Another BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying the opposition party did not just lose its legacy but credibility also under his leadership.
"Rahul's gift to the Congress on Nehruji's birth anniversary: 95 losses again and again! Legacy Lost, credibility lost Too!" Bhatia wrote on X.
WIth PTI inputs