Bihar Assembly Election 2020 Results: The NDA has been voted back to power in the state.Bihar Election Results 2020 Reactions Live Updates: As the BJP-JD(U) NDA alliance came back to power in Bihar Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the results were an endorsement of the way the government tackled Covid-19 and prove that elections in the 21st century would be fought on the issue of development alone.
“Everyone is asking how did this happen? We can find an answer in yesterday’s results. The people of India clearly stated that the only point of debate during elections would be development in the 21st century India. They are asking every other party to come to this plank, and showing them that these are the real issues,” PM Modi said as hundreds of party workers gathered outside the BJP headquarters cheered.
The ruling coalition won 125 seats in the 243-member Assembly, while the Grand Alliance of Opposition parties won 110 seats. Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan said the results showed the people of Bihar respected PM Modi, and it was his victory. The LJP managed to win only one of the 137 seats it contested — its worst performance since its inception in October 2000. Paswan, however, said his party’s candidates had fought well, and its position has been strengthened in the state.
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With Left parties — CPI(ML), CPM and CPI — performing well and retaining its pockets of influence, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury warned naysayers against writing them off, saying had they been given more seats, they would have notched up higher numbers this election. Left parties contested 29 seats and won 16.
CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, meanwhile, told The Indian Express, “There are a lot of gains we have made for the Left movement and for the entire pro-democracy movement in the country.”
Meanwhile, as the Congress emerged the weakest link of the mahagathbandhan, a source told The Indian Express the 70 seats the party contested were “traditionally non UPA/non-Congress seats, where the strike rate of the NDA had been more than 95 per cent”.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) made huge gains, winning five seats out of 24 in the Seemanchal region. It had fielded 16 candidates in the region. The party’s Bihar president, Akhtar-ul Iman, told IndianExpress.com, “We will do whatever needs to be done to stop divisive forces from coming back to power. It is true that people’s mandate should be respected, we will respect it and decide accordingly.”
A day after the NDA retained power in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the dominant partner, and put on an impressive show in the bypolls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the results were an endorsement of the way the government tackled Covid-19 and prove that elections in the 21st century would be fought on the issue of development alone.
“Everyone is asking how did this happen? We can find an answer in yesterday’s results. The people of India clearly stated that the only point of debate during elections would be development in the 21st century India. They are asking every other party to come to this plank, and showing them that these are the real issues,” PM Modi said as hundreds of party workers gathered outside the BJP headquarters cheered.
Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti said on Wednesday that her party became the “elder brother” in the NDA alliance in Bihar only through the “ladder” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. She was speaking to reporters here a day after the BJP won more seats in Bihar Assembly elections than its ally, Kumar-led Janata Dal (United).
When asked should there be a BJP chief minister in the northern state now, Bharti said, “I don’t want to get into this.”
“The election was contested under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, and you will recall that his leadership had been announced by me in 2005 when I was BJP general secretary in-charge of Bihar. And we were able to form a government there,” she said.
Addressing party working, BJP national president JP said: "This was India's first big elections after the world was hit by the COVID pandemic. From viewpoint of contributing to the elections to bringing people out to vote for us, it has been a big and defining period."
Meanwhile, in his first reaction since Bihar election results were announced, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar in a tweet said: "I salute the public for the majority it gave to the NDA. I thank PM Narendra Modi for his support"
Addressing party workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attributed BJP's "governance model" behind its success in elections. "When people think of governance, they think of BJP," PM Modi said.
After clinching the Bihar assembly polls, West Bengal will be the "prime focus" for BJP where it has set a target of winning more than 200 seats in the state elections due in April-May 2021, party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Wednesday.
The NDA has won 125 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, results of which were declared on Tuesday. The BJP with its score of 74 seats has emerged as the party to have won the second highest number of seats after Lalu Prasad's RJD. The saffron party's tally is much higher than that of its ally - the JD(U) which won 43 seats. It will now shift its focus to politically crucial West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs to the Lok Sabha - two more than Bihar, Vijayvargiya, who is also BJP's in-charge of Bengal, said. (PTI)
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday praised RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, saying that he has emerged as the 'man of the match' in the Bihar Assembly elections and will play a 'pivotal role' in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Talking to PTI, Raut expressed doubts over the stability of the next NDA government in Bihar.
In the 243-member House, the BJP-JD(U) alliance has won 125 seats, where the simple majority mark is 123, while the opposition grand alliance has bagged 110 seats, he said. 'The majority is very thin and anything can happen. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party- JD(U) finished third and if anyone is celebrating the win, it's a joke. The BJP has done well, for which it had to do a lot of political strategising,' he said.
"Chirag Paswan's LJP ensured the defeat of 20 JD(U) candidates and Paswan is still in the NDA. This is a serious issue," Raut said.
LJP leader Chirag Paswan on Wednesday defended his decision of fielding candidates against the JD(U) in large numbers in the Bihar assembly polls which hugely damaged its prospects, saying he wanted Nitish Kumar's party to be "emaciated" and succeeded in the endeavour. He also declared he will not support the new government in Bihar if the NDA stuck to its promise of retaining Nitish Kumar as the chief minister despite the JD (U)'s diminished numbers in the assembly.
"We never concealed our intentions. We believed the JD(U) headed by Kumar needed to be emaciated and we succeeded. We wanted to make the BJP stronger and its heft has increased unquestionably," Paswan said.
Paswan told PTI that he was happy that the BJP had emerged "much bigger and stronger" in Bihar, and ruled out any possibility of a truck with the opposition Grand Alliance, comprising RJD, Congress and three Left parties, citing "ideological differences". (PTI)
In an interview with the Indian Express, BJP General Secretary Bhupender Yadav, in-charge of Bihar, talks about the way ahead for NDA after retaining power in Bihar. "People of Bihar have voted for development and continuity. The electorate has supported us to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for Atmanirbhar Bihar that goes with the Atmanirbhar Bharat. We are accepting the mandate and will work towards fulfilling the pledge we have made for the development of Bihar in our manifesto.", he said.
BJP’s Bihar unit President Sanjay Jaiswal told The Indian Express, “When we decided to be partners, our then national president Amit Shah had said that NDA would be led by Nitish Kumar. So, it stands.” he said. Asked if Kumar would be CM for the entire five years if the NDA forms the government, Jaiswal said: “Naturally, when our Prime Minister has said that. Yes, it will be so.”
However, speaking to The Indian Express, another party leader Sanjay Paswan suggested there was still room for reconsideration. “It’s a victory for the BJP and Prime Minister Modi. But as per our promises, we are committed to offer the Chief Minister’s post to Nitish Kumar. It’s up to the morality of Nitish Kumar to decide what to do.” Read more here
Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, Saamana, has said if Nitish Kumar becomes chief minister despite the JD(U) winning less seats in the Bihar election, the credit should go to the Sena.
"BJP leader Amit Shah had announced that Nitish Kumar would become the chief minister even if his party gets less number of seats. But a similar assurance was given to the Shiv Sena during the 2019 Assembly polls in Maharashtra, which was not honoured and the state witnessed a political 'Mahabharat'," it said. "If Nitish Kumar becomes the chief minister despite winning less number seats, its credit should go to the Shiv Sena."
The editorial also praised RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for his "spirited fight" in the election. "Bihar has seen the rise of Tejashwi era. He single-handedly fought the people in power. It would be injustice to Tejashwi to say that Modi's charisma worked in Bihar. The election, which looked one-sided initially became a closely-fought contest due to Tejashwi," it was quoted as saying by PTI. "The Bihar elections gave a new Tejashwi (shining) face to the national politics. He needs to be congratulated."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami congratulates the people of Bihar for reaffirming their solidarity for the NDA alliance. Palaniswami heads the AIADMK party, a key ally of the BJP. "Good governance leads to progressive State. People of Bihar have reaffirmed their solidarity for NDA alliance. My hearty congratulations for NDA alliance in the state. Best wishes for the People of Bihar," he tweets.
Congress sources told The Indian Express the 70 seats it contested were "traditionally non UPA/non-Congress seats, where the strike rate of the NDA had been more than 95 per cent". Said a Congress leader: "Whenever the JD(U) and BJP come together they become a deadly combination based on their caste and social composition. In 2010 when the BJP and the JD(U) fought together they won 65 out of these 70 seats. The BJP had won 33 out of 36 and the JD(U) won 32 out of 34. Similarly, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP and the JD(U) fought together, they led in 67 out of the same 70 seats. BJP led in 25 out of 26 segments and JD(U) led in 28 out of 32 segments." Read more here
In an interview to IndianExpress.com, AIMIM’s Bihar president Akhtar-ul Iman, who won from Amour defeating sitting Congress MLA Jaleel Mastan, said: "We will do whatever needs to be done to stop divisive forces from coming back to power. It is true that people’s mandate should be respected, we will respect it and decide accordingly." AIMIM made huge gains, winning five seats out of 24 in the Seemanchal region. It had fielded 16 candidates in the region. Read the full interview here
Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi says "the man of the match is undoubtable Tejashwi Yadav."
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, in a tweet, appealed to Nitish Kumar to enter national politics. "Nitish ji, Bihar is too small an arena for you now; you should enter national politics. You should help build consensus among all socialist and secular parties, not let the 'divide and rule' policy of the RSS prevail," he tweeted in Hindi.
The RJD-led Opposition Mahagathbandhan, which exit polls predicted would win the Assembly elections and end Nitish Kumar’s 15-year run as Chief Minister, fell short of the majority mark in the 243-member Bihar House Tuesday night.
Pulled down by the dismal showing of the Congress, the strong performance of AIMIM in Seemanchal, and the less-than-expected tally of RJD though it did emerge as the single largest party, the Mahagathbandhan refused to accept the results. It alleged that returning officers had given into pressure from the ruling alliance, and had not been fair in declaring the results.
"Today is a historic day that NDA has won again the extraordinary trust of the people of Bihar. They trusted PM Modi's leadership whose commitment resonated with them that without development of Bihar, development of India will remain incomplete," said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Democracy has once again won in Bihar with the blessings of the people, says Narendra Modi.
As NDA clinches 125 seats in Bihar to retain its govt, it's time for celebration for the parties in the alliance. Union Minister and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey expressed gratitude towards the voters of Bihar and attributed the win to PM Modi's hard work. "I would like to express my gratitude towards the people of Bihar. This victory is a result of PM Narendra Modi's hard work and guidance. People have elected double-engine govt and rejected 'double yuvraj'," he said.
As the results trickled in Tuesday evening pointing to the NDA scraping past the 122-seat majority mark with the BJP as the dominant partner for the first time in Bihar, its leaders underlined their campaign commitment to continue with Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the architect of the current BJP-JD (U) alliance, dialled Nitish in what party leaders called a “congratulatory” call. Sources said that Shah was clear that if the NDA formed the government, Nitish Kumar would lead it.
But the fact that Nitish and his JD(U) have slid in the final tally isn’t lost on anyone. By midnight Tuesday, the BJP was leading in 74 of the 110 seats it had contested (a gain of 21) and the JD(U) in 43 of 115 (a loss of 28). Read full story
On a day Bihar Assembly elections and several bypoll results are being declared, Home Minister Amit Shah said the verdict shows the confidence the poor, farmers and youth have in the NDA govt's successful fight against Covid-19, and also teaches a lesson to those trying to mislead people.
In his first remark on the election results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said people of Bihar have given their 'decisive decision for development'.
"Bihar has taught the world the first lesson of democracy. Today Bihar has told the world again how democracy is strengthened. A record number of poor, deprived and women of Bihar also voted and today have also given their decisive decision for development," PM Modi tweeted.
"The blessings for the NDA's good governance even after 15 years in Bihar shows what Bihar's dreams are, what Bihar's expectations are," the PM said, adding that the youth made it clear that this new decade will be for Bihar.
"I again assure every citizen of Bihar that for the balanced development of every person, every region, we will continue to work with full dedication," he added.
The NDA alliance is set to form the government in Bihar as it has won 121 seats and was leading with comfortable margin on four other seats, BJP's Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal said on Tuesday while attributing the alliance's victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
"The NDA won because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its pro-poor policies. People have reposed faith in his leadership," Jaiswal told PTI. He said the National Democratic Alliance is set to form the government in Bihar as it has won 121 seats and is leading on four other seats with a comfortable margin. (PTI)
With the three Left parties bagging seven seats and leading in 10 others in Bihar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury warned naysayers against writing them off, saying had they been given more seats, they would have notched up higher numbers in the elections.
As of 9 pm on Tuesday evening, the CPI(ML) won six of the 19 seats they fought on and was leading in six, the CPI(M), which competed on four seats, won one and was leading in two others, and the CPI, which contested on six seats, won one and was leading in two.
The Left parties contested on 29 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections.
"We were clear from the beginning that we have to defeat the BJP. Our strike rate in Bihar is 80 per cent and if we had been given more seats, we would have contributed more to the Gathbandhan tally. Our alliance with the RJD and Congress combined issues of social justice with that of economic justice. One cannot be achieved without the other," Yechury told PTI.
Even as the counting of votes is underway in Bihar, the RJD on Tuesday accused the Nitish Kumar government of intimidating officials and tampering with the results.
“Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi are pressuring all officials to tamper with the counting of votes and make sure the Mahagathbandan fails to win over 105-110 seats,” the party has alleged.
Sharing a purported list of winning candidates from as many as 119 seats, the RJD claimed returning officers had already congratulated its candidates on their win, but is now refusing to issue certificates, and claiming they have lost.
Locked in a tight contest with the NDA, RJD accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi of exerting pressure on the District Magistrates to keep RJD's count between 105-110. In a tweet, RJD said it will not allow the 'public mandate to get looted'.
Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, which was given tags like 'vote cutter' and spoiler in the Bihar assembly polls, appeared set to win five Muslim-dominated seats on Tuesday and said its critics have got a befitting reply from the people.
With the election results on a knife's edge, AIMIM could play a key role in the formation of the next government in case there is a hung assembly, having captured a sizeable number of seats in the state's Seemanchal region, which was being seen as a stronghold of the grand opposition alliance.
AIMIM national spokesperson Asim Waqar told PTI that a final decision on who AIMIM could back in case of a hung assembly will be taken by Owaisi, but ruled out supporting the BJP, asserting that his party's fight has always been against the saffron party.
Ahead of the polling in the third phase of the polls, the Congress had dubbed the AIMIM as the BJP's 'B-team' and had accused the party of colluding with the BJP. Congress' Bihar unit chief Madan Mohan Jha had said AIMIM will not have any significant impact on the assembly polls as people will not 'waste' their votes. (PTI)
'We were in fact expecting a stronger performance of the Mahagathbandhan and the Left, because this was a very rare kind of election, almost a people’s movement. It looked like an upsurge of the youth. It was refreshing to see people shape the agenda with employment, education, basic issues. That kind of an environment helps the Left… All through the lockdown we were active, stood by the people. And the so-called double-engine government (if the NDA was in power at the state and in the Centre), people found both the engines were driverless (at the time)… Our comrades reached out with rations, we did relief work in flood-affected areas. I think this role of the Left during the lockdown helped us.' said CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. Read full interview here
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said JD-U leader Nitish Kumar should thank it if he retains the post of Bihar chief minister despite his party winning less seats in the Assembly polls than ally BJP as the latest trends indicate.
Referring to last year's dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra, which saw the Shiv Sena severing ties with the BJP and forming government with ideological rivals NCP and the Congress, Sena MP Sanjay Raut told PTI that his party had shown what happens "when word is not kept" by an alliance partner. "I heard BJP leaders saying in unison (on TV) that only Nitish babu will be the chief minister. Nitish babu should thank Shiv Sena for that. Not keeping promises will not happen in Bihar because the Shiv Sena has shown in Maharashtra what can happen if word is not kept," Raut said.
"Hence, if Nitish Kumar becomes Bihar chief minister, despite winning less number of seats (as compared to the BJP), he should thank the Shiv Sena for it," the Rajya Sabha MP said. (PTI)
'It is a victory for Prime Minister Modi and the NDA. It is for Nitish Kumar also. His governance in Bihar for 15 years and its record helped. And the people in Bihar have appreciated Modiji’s programmes for the poor – the toilets, gas connection, Jan Dhan Yojana, etc.', said Sanjay Jaiswal. Read full interview here
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said though the trends of Bihar Assembly election results favour the NDA, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav put up a "gritty" fight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had campaigned for the NDA, he noted. "The trends so far are in favour of the NDA. I think we did not pay attention to the Bihar election. We (NCP) did not contest because we felt that young leadership in the form of Tejashwi Yadav should come forward," Pawar told PTI.
"Tejashwi has put up a gritty fight," he said. "We did not get desired results in the Bihar election. There are some reasons for it. What I saw in the entire campaign was that prime minister Narendra Modi himself took a lot of interest in the election."
"On one side there was a young, inexperienced person like Tejashwi and on the other side, there was a person who was chief minister of Gujarat for several years and is now prime minister for the second term. And there was Nitish Kumar who has also been chief minister for several years," said Pawar. Irrespective of the number of seats the Grand Alliance led by the RJD gets, it is a "good achievement" and it will give inspiration to the young generation, Pawar added.
RJD's Manoj Jha Tuesday said that they remain confident that they will get full majority. He added that they are the single largest party already according to their information.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi as trends suggested that Congress is leading in only 18 of the 70 seats they contested in the Bihar Assembly elections. Linking AIMIM with BJP, Chowdhury told news agency ANI, "BJP's tactic of using (Asaduddin) Owaisi Sahab's party in the Bihar elections has succeeded to an extent. All secular parties should be alert about vote cutter Owaisi Sahab."
With the trends suggesting that the NDA alliance is on course to form the government in Bihar, JD(U) supporters have taken to the streets in Patna to celebrate.
BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal told PTI that there is no dispute regarding who will lead the government if the alliance returns to power in the state. A party or a coalition requires 122 seats to form the government in Bihar. "The issue has been cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P Nadda much before the elections," he said, while responding to a query whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will lead the NDA government if the alliance secures a majority in the assembly. Without naming RJD leader and Grand Alliance chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, Jaiswal took a swipe at him, saying, "People are intelligent enough to distinguish between truth and falsehood."
Even as the current trends give the NDA an advantage, the RJD has exuded confidence that the Grand Alliance will form the government in the state. Stating that Bihar has voted for change, the party tweeted all candidates and counting agents to remain in the hall until the process is completed.
Indicating that there is some glitch in vote counting, Plurals Party's Pushpam Priya Chaudhary has claimed that she has not got any votes on the booths where people voted for her in her presence. "I have 0 votes in those booths where the workers went in front of me and cast their vote!" she tweeted.
After the ruling NDA took an initial lead from the grand alliance in poll trends for Bihar, Congress leader Udit Raj on Tuesday raised questions on the reliability of EVMs asking why they cannot be hacked if satellites can be controlled from the earth. He also asked if Donald Trump could have lost in the US elections had EVMs been used.
"If the direction of satellites to Mars and Moon can be controlled from the earth, then why can't EVM be hacked," Udit Raj said in a tweet in Hindi.
"If elections were held in America with EVMs, could Trump have lost," he asked.
In another tweet, he took a swipe at the BJP, saying it has been able to sideline Nitish Kumar with its performance in Bihar.
Pulling back the years, the Left parties, which fared poorly in the 2015 elections, is leading in nearly 20 seats in Bihar after the first round of voting on Tuesday. Of the 29 constituencies handed to the Left parties in the state elections this year, the CPI (M-L) contested on 19 seats, and the CPI and CPM on six and four seats respectively. "The leads so far are on the expected lines and we hope to catch up in three more seats. This was a different kind of election. This was more a people's movement. We banked on young candidates, student leaders, candidates who were part of farmer struggles, working class people. That seems to have worked," Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, told news agency PTI.
Even thought the Congress struggles to keep pace, Bihar spokesman Rajesh Rathor is confident that "things will change in our favour". "We are not far behind, things will change in our favour," he told news agency PTI.
JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok said that the trends confirmed the faith the people of Bihar have in Nitish Kumar. Bihar RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari, however, said, "It's like a T-20 match. The result will be decided only when the last ball of the match is bowled."
As the results continued to pour in, Bihar BJP spokesman Sanjay Singh Tiger said the BJP-JD(U) coalition worked under the "double engine" governments -- NDA dispensations at the Centre as well in the state and the people of Bihar have blessed it. "The people know Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish kumar can speed up development of the state and hence they have reposed their faith in the NDA," Tiger was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
As the Mahagathbandhan continues to trail, RJD MP Manoj Jha told reporters: "We will see you in a few hours and will prove that we did what we had said."
Bihar JD(U) chief Vashishtha Narayan Singh expressed confidence that the NDA will form the government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. "I have been saying this for a long time that the NDA will form the government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The opposition ran a misleading campaign with several allurements to woo voters," Singh was quoted as telling reporters. When asked whether the saffron party or the JD(U) will lead the government, Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda have made it "amply clear" on several occasions as to who will form the government.
Speaking to NDTV, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said that the party will "stick to its promise" of Nitish Kumar returning as the Chief Minister if the BJP-JD[U] alliance was voted to power. He added: "Modi's image sailed us through (this election). By evening, we will decide on the issues of government formation and leadership."
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India [ECI] is slated to hold a press conference at 1.30 pm. ECI officers, including Deputy Election Commissioners Sudeep Jain, Chandrabhushan Kumar and Ashish Kundra, is scheduled to brief the media virtually.
Locals keep a tab on the counting of votes in Patna on Tuesday. [PTI]
BJP supporters and workers began celebrating in Patna after the trends indicated the NDAahead of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.
Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha tweeted again: "Jaandaar, Shandaar, Dumdaar & Dabang, Netrtv/leadership @yadavtejashwi Vijayebhava! Ran jeet kar aao! It's your well deserved time, era and great moment! We all love, want and support you. God Bless! Love and regards to your family. Many, many happy returns of the day."
As latest trends put the BJP ahead of the opposition, BJP MP from Asansol, Babul Supriyo, took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav by termed the Mahagathbandhan or MGB as "Mar Gaye Bhai". "Tejaswi calls Rahul Gandhi and says: MGB = Mar Gaye Bhai !! and I am saying it very seriously, yes all puns are very much intended. How dare people on Jail and Bail think that Bihar will forget all that? After all it was them on the ground who went they the torture of the ‘Jungla Raj’?" he posted on Twitter.
Actor-turned politician and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha today took a swipe at the Nitish Kumar-led government over the "special status" and "special package" promised to the people of Bihar. He tweeted: "Sir, the tall claims made by some of our friends in the ruling party, including it's hon'ble leaders.....here is a response to them by one of the most learned, seasoned, successful, bold and beautiful leader Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. Our friend, Surjewala, speaks in detail on various issues with firm conviction and logic,in a pure no nonsense manner, which is highly appreciated. It's an eye opener and a definite watch! Hon'ble Sir, is this the way promises are kept? What happened to the 'special status' and 'special package' promised to Bihar? The pending promises, tall claims are all just hawa hawai??? Hope, wish and pray that Bihar results will show you the way and give a new direction to the nation. Jai Bihar! Jai Hind!"
Meanwhile, the celebrations that had started at Lalu Prasad’s 10, Circular Road, residence in Patna around one hour into counting were put on hold an hour later as the trends swung the NDA’s way, putting it neck and neck with the Grand Alliance. While only first rounds have been counted yet, the fact that these were trends for 243 seats made both camps cautious. The most noticeable change in fortunes was of the LJP’s Chirag Paswan. The party is now leading on eight seats, and in case of a Hung Assembly, can play a crucial role. With over 5.5% of the share, should the LJP hold on, it would be a huge boost to the political career of the young Paswan, and his gamble of walking out of the NDA in Bihar at the last moment. The NDA seemed to be doing well in North Bihar, which voted in the third phase and includes some of its strongholds, and the Grand Alliance in the Magadh and Bhojpur belts, where polling was held in the first and second phases. The RJD seemed to be emerging as the single largest party, followed by the BJP, with the JD(U) third. The Congress seemed to be doing well. The AIMIM, which was seen as having a good chance in the Seemanchal region, was ahead in two seats and its ally BSP in one. Click here to read more.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted: "The BJP is doing very well across. It is leading in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and even Telangana by-polls... Not to mention Bihar where, along with its allies, it is doing much better than what the exit polls had predicted... It is not over till its over."
Reiterating his thoughts while speaking to news agency ANI, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said: "A year ago, the RJD couldn't win a single seat in the Lok Sabha polls. As per the Lok Sabha results, JD(U) and its allies were to win over 200 seats. In the last one year, nothing has harmed brand Nitish or added to brand RJD. We are losing only due to the Covid impact."
With the NDA trailing the opposition in the initial hours of counting, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi told a news channel that his party was not defeated by the RJD but the "nation's curse (Covid)". "We welcome the people's decision. We were not defeated by RJD or Tejashwi Yadav but nation's curse (Covid). We are trailing only because of Covid. We are paying for past 70 years of deterioration In Bihar, " the senior JD(U) leader told NDTV.