Bihar CM Nitish Kumar exults over NDA's victory; thanks PM Modi for 'continuous' support

Issuing his first response after NDA secured a majority in the Assembly election, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expressed gratitude to the people of the state. He stressed that the people are the ultimate judge of the government's popularity. Moreover, Kumar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continuous support. 

Incidentally, BJP had declared NDA's victory at the party office in Patna in the absence of JD(U) leaders. BJP Bihar president Sanjay Jaiswal mentioned that the biggest contribution to the victory was of PM's welfare schemes and the state government's good governance. Meanwhile, BJP's Bihar in-charge Bhupender Yadav contended the mandate is an opportunity to fulfill PM Modi's goal of 'Self-reliant India'. As a part of the NDA alliance, BJP, JD(U), HAM(S) and VIP contested 110,115, 7 and 11 seats respectively. 

Read: Jyotiraditya Scindia Attributes Bihar & By-poll Wins To PM Modi's Effective Leadership

Read: Bihar Polls Results Due To Modi's Leadership, Good Governance Of NDA: Sonowal

2020 Bihar Assembly election

The Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(M-L), CPI, and CPM was perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling NDA alliance consisting of BJP, JD(U), VIP, and HAM(S). Some of the other alliances in the fray included the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' who has projected Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav as the CM face and the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance' with former Upendra Kushwaha as the CM candidate. The 2020 election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. 

As part of the counting day arrangements, the counting centres were increased to 55 spread across 38 districts of the state for ensuring social distancing. There was three-tier security for all the counting centres which included the involvement of the Central paramilitary forces, the Bihar military police and the district armed police. Additionally, the EC has held a number of briefings regarding the status of counting of votes. 

The polls turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against that of 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan. BJP, RJD, JD(U), Congress won 74, 75, 43 and 19 seats respectively. With 4 seats each, VIP and HAM (S) had a crucial role to play in the ruling alliance breaching the majority mark. Similarly, AIMIM made a huge mark in Bihar politics as 5 of its candidates were declared winners.

Read: Bihar Elections: With 1 Seat & 5.66% Vote Share, Did LJP Cause A 32-seat Dent To JDU?