NDA overcomes stiff challenge to retain power in Bihar

    Patna, Nov 11 (PTI) Surmounting anti-incumbency of 15
years, a mutinous former ally, and a spirited challenge from a
resurgent opposition that rose from its ashes like proverbial
phoenix after the 2019 Lok Sabha poll debacle, Nitish Kumar-
led NDA was back in power in Bihar on Wednesday with a slender
majority.
    The ruling coalition won 125 seats in the 243-member
state assembly against 110 clinched by the opposition Grand
Alliance to pave the way for a fourth successive term for
Kumar in office but with diminished clout following a
debilitating slide in the number of JD(U) lawmakers that came
down to 43 from 71 in 2015.
    Kumar was then a partner in the Grand Alliance which
included Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress.
    Its defeat notwithstanding, the RJD, whose campaign
Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son and heir to party supremo
Lalu Prasad helmed, emerged as the single largest party with
75 seats. The BJP, which led the table for several hours
during the counting that dragged on for over 16 hours,
finished second with a tally of 74 seats.
    Despite the slump in numbers, Kumar, who was declared
the NDA's chief ministerial candidate by the BJP brass,
including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P
Nadda, is set to take over the reins of the government.
    Much of Kumar's plight can be blamed on the damage
Chirag Paswan's LJP inflicted on his JD(U). Down in the dumps
with just one MLA, the party spoiled the JD(U)'s chances in at
least 30 seats.
    JD(U) spokesperson K C Tyagi told PTI in New Delhi
that a "sinister" campaign was run against Nitish Kumar as
part of a "conspiracy".
     "Apne bhi shamil the aur begane bhi (Our own also
harmed us along with the outsiders)," he said, without taking
any names.
     He, however, expressed confidence that Kumar will
become the chief minister again, noting that top BJP leaders
including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit
Shah have made it clear that he will head the government if
the ruling NDA retains power.
    Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal voiced similar
views in Patna when he said in Patna "the issue has been
cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P
Nadda much before the elections".
    Apart from BJP's 74 seats and JD(U)'s 43, the ruling
alliance partners HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won
four seats each.
    The drastic fall in the number of JD(U) MLAs, however,
will likely make the BJP, which hitherto played a second
fiddle to Kumar, more assertive, and it may insist on a larger
share in the ministerial pie and greater say in governance.
    Apart from Kumar's creditable performance as an
administrator, the multiple claimants to Muslim votes,
including the Grand Democratic Secular Front (GDSF) comprising
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, BSP and Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP
worked in NDA's favour and scuppered the Mahagathbandhan's
chances. Muslim and Yadav voters have for long formed the
bedrock of the RJD's support base.
    Owaisi's AIMIM emerged as a surprise package of the
election, winning five seats. The party had gained a foothold
winning a seat in a by-election in Bihar earlier, but made
significant inroads into the Seemanchanchal region which has a
large presence of Muslim voters. Its ally BSP also clinched
one seat.
    Kumar, who has a clean image and is considered
incorruptible, has been credited with ridding the state of the
"jungle raj", as the Lalu-Rabri government of 15 years
preceding 2005 is often described by its critics.
    The JD(U) leader also earned praise for his impetus on
infrastructure development and improving health care system
and education.
    Besides, Modi's enduring charisma not only powered the
alliance's victory but also helped the BJP to pre-eminent
position in the NDA in Bihar for the first time and cut his
former bete noire Nitish Kumar, once considered a secular
alternative to him, to size.
    The election also saw the coming of age of Tejashwi
Yadav, who came across as an indefatigable leader after RJD's
unprecedented drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls last year when
it failed to open its account.
    The NDA had clinched all but one of the 40 seats in
the state, leaving the young leader in torpor and his party
demoralised. Tejashwi's ability to lead the party in the
absence of his charismatic father and party supremo Lalu
Prasad, who had landed in jail after conviction in fodder scam
cases, was called into question.
    However, after the assembly elections were announced,
he steeled himself for the struggle ahead and almost single
handedly brought the five party Grand Alliance surprisingly
close to power in a fight where an army of battle hardened
veterans were arrayed against him.
    A major upshot of the gruelling electoral tussle
between the two alliances was the resurgence of Left, which
aligned with the RJD-Congress combine after being pushed to
the margins in the post-Mandal era politics of Bihar.
    The biggest gainer was the CPI-ML, which clinched 12
seats, followed by the CPI and CPI-M (two each). Barring the
CPI-ML, which had three seats in the outgoing assembly, none
of the Left parties had a presence in the House.
    Brothers Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap won the
Raghopur and Hasanpur seats with impressive margins of 38,174
and 21,139 votes respectively.
    Prominent losers from the RJD included Abdul Bari
Siddiqui, a former state party chief, and Lalu Prasad's Man
Friday Bhola Yadav who lost from Keoti and Hayaghat seats in
Darbhanga respectively.
    Senior Bihar minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav of JD(U)
won from Supual, and Niraj Singh Babloo of the BJP, a cousin
of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whose mysterious death became
an election issue, retained the Chhatapur seat.
    State assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of the
JD(U) was among the victors.
    Ace former shooter and Commonwealth gold medalist
Shreyasi Singh of BJP won the Jamui seat by over 41,000 votes,
but veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav's daughter
Subhashini lost in Bihariganj.
    HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi defeated former state
assembly speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary in Imamganj of Gaya
district. PTI Team NAC SK
SK SK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)