Bihar 2020 Election Results: 5 Reasons NDA Won |

NEW DELHI: Proving that almost all exit polls were wrong, the four-party NDA coalition achieved victory in the Bihar assembly elections, counting for which it was held until Tuesday night due to the increase in the number of EVMs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t just the exit polls, but the NDA also broke several odds that weighed heavily against it to retain power for a record fourth term since 2005.
Despite the fatigue and anti-incumbency factor against Prime Minister Nitish Kumar and a perception of a lagging pace of development in his last term, the NDA managed to woo voters and keep the government.
These are the five reasons why the NDA won the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections.
1. Caste and community equations
If the rival Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD led by Tejashwi Yadav and Congress had Muslim and Yadav (MY) voters, the NDA mainly consolidated Kurmis (the Nitish Kumar caste), Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) and Upper Castes (the BJP vote bank) in generalized and polarized Hindu votes in particular.
At one of their rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pounced on the RJD and said that those who believe in Jungle Raj should not have the people of Bihar chant slogans like ‘Bharat Ma’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in the land of ‘Chhathi Maiya ‘. If RJD sought to polarize Muslim votes in the Seemanchal and Mithilanchal regions, Modi’s speeches led to a reverse polarization, as has happened in other elections, such as the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
2. Voting banks
Due to the various schemes directed at them, women and young people turned out in large numbers to vote. The NDA feels that the increase in the percentage of voters in the polls was in their favor. In the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, their vote was split between Nitish and Modi. However, a large number of women’s votes went to the NDA, as both BJP and JD (U) rallied again in this election.
Shortly after it became clear that the NDA would retain power, Modi thanked the women and youth for their support.
In a tweet in Hindi, he said: “By voting in record numbers this time, the sisters and daughters of the state have shown how important their role is in creating a self-sufficient Bihar. We are pleased that NDA has had the opportunity to bring self-confidence to the power of women in recent years. This confidence in ourselves will give us strength in the progress of the state ”.

Similarly, he posted another tweet for the youth. He said: “The young friends of Bihar have conveyed the message that the next decade will belong to the state and a self-sufficient Bihar is their roadmap. The youth of Bihar have trusted in their abilities and the resolve of the NDA. The NDA has received the breath of this youthful energy to work harder. ”

3. Emotional appeals
The emotional appeals made by Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi seem to have struck a chord with voters. Just a couple of days before the last phase of the elections, the Bihar CM said it was their last election. Even his rivals said that his statement was “emotional blackmail” by voters.
Modi, on the other hand, reminded people of the “Jungle Raj” (an epithet used by the Supreme Court for the 15-year misrule of Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi).
Voters may have ignored voting along caste or communal lines and voted on governance issues instead.
Similarly, Modi made a fervent appeal to voters seeking a full term with Nitish Kumar. He said he was only about three years old (since 2017 when the latter broke the alliance with Mahagathbandhan and realigned with the BJP). He looked for one more term for Nitish so that both could function as a “twin engine” government for the development of the state.
4. Multi-corner contests
Anti-NDA votes were divided due to multi-corner contests. The central voting bank of Mahagathbandhan’s senior partner, the RJD, whether Muslim or Yadav, was split because candidates from various parties, such as Chirag Paswan’s LJP, Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and the RLSP led by Upendra Kushwaha. , entering the fray.
It was one of the reasons why the RJD votes were divided in its stronghold from the northern regions of Bihar: Seemanchal and Mithilanchal.
5. Modi, Nitish’s cash transfer plans
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes for various sectors of society may have proven to be a game changer in these elections.
Both the Modi government in the center and the Nitish government launched various schemes in the wake of the coronavirus disease outbreak from March-April.
The center launched one of the largest cash transfer schemes to transfer cash to Jan Dhan women’s accounts in April. Over 30 billion rupees were deposited into the women’s accounts. In addition to this, more than Rs 5000 crore was deposited into linked LPG connections. Apart from these, 500 rupees were transferred to the women’s accounts for three months.
A series of other steps included an increase in MNREGA’s salary to Rs 202 per day from Rs 182, which benefited 13.62 million families; ex gratia of 1,000 to 3 crore of poor widows, poor disabled and poor elderly.
Farmers’ interests were also served and the center deposited 2,000 rupees with them in the first week of April under the leadership of Prime Minister Kisan Yojana. This benefited farmers from Rs 8.7 million.
The Bihar government also took various measures to put cash into the accounts of people in need. It extended the insurance coverage of Rs 50 lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19. The state government deposited 1,000 rupees each into the 6.75 lakh bank accounts of migrant workers who were stranded out of state. It also deposited 1,000 rupees into the bank accounts of ration card holders.