Lantern trembles in Modi’s tsuNamo

It was not a wave. It was Tsunami. Or Tsunamo, as many BJP leaders are saying. The BJP-led alliance in Bihar gave its best-ever performance in any Lok Sabha elections, wresting 38 out of 40 parliamentary constituencies. The winning strike rate was 95%.

The BJP and the JD (U) contested 17 seats each during 2019 polls and won 16 seats each. This was one of the best performance by the NDA which had won 32 seats in 2009 and 31 seats in 2014.

The BJP’s other alliance partner – the LJP - headed by Ram Vilas Paswan won all the six seats it contested. Though Paswan did not contest Lok Sabha elections this time, his three family members won from their traditional bastion. This includes Paswan’s son Chirag (Jamui), brothers - Ram Chandra Paswan (Samastipur) and Pashupati Kumar Paras (Hajipur).

But the most notable of all victories was Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s win from Patna Sahib. The BJP leader, who made his debut in Lok Sabha poll (after being elected to Rajya Sabha for four times), defeated Shatrughan Sinha, who was Congress nominee from his home turf.

Another shocking defeat was of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who lost for the second consecutive term from her bastion Sasaram to her traditional rival Chedi Paswan of BJP.

MUST READ | Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates

The biggest surprise, however, came from Begusarai where BJP’s controversial MP Giriraj Singh won the parliamentary seat by defeating CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar. Several Bollywood celebrities, including Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, and Swara Bhaskar had campaigned for the former JNU student leader.

Union Ministers Radha Mohan Singh, RK Singh, and Ashwini Choubey won from East Champaran, Ara and Buxar respectively.

Former JD (U) president Sharad Yadav, who contested on RJD ticket, lost from Madhepura. Similar was the case with former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar who could not romp home from Katihar.

Lalu’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti, till the time of reporting, was trailing, in Pataliputra constituency. The RJD symbol, lantern, flickered everywhere in Modi's Tsunami.