Impact of Bihar election results: PM’s ability to change state elections has been strengthened (File photo)
New Delhi:
The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seemed headed for a victory in Bihar today as votes were counted in the first major election held in the shadow of the coronavirus. The NDA, defying multiple exit polls, surpassed the majority mark and the BJP was even the largest party at a time in a state where it has always been a junior partner. However, the opposition alliance led by Tejashwi Yadav put up a strong fight, emerging as the largest party after a 10-hour countdown. The unexpected rise in the NDA, despite Nitish Kumar facing opposition to the incumbent after three consecutive terms, has been attributed by the BJP to the campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What the results mean for national policy:
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The prime minister’s ability to change state elections has been strengthened in a key state that has 40 seats in the Lok Sabha, of which the BJP won 39 in last year’s national elections.
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The BJP is now stronger in Bihar even without strong leadership in the state. In Bihar, its most important leader is Sushil Kumar Modi, who shares a good relationship with Nitish Kumar.
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With Bihar, the BJP has a chance to end a dry phase in which it suffered a series of state losses to various coalitions. For example, in Maharashtra, where an unlikely partnership between his former partner Shiv Sena and the NCP and Congress prevented the BJP from coming to power.
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Today’s results in biased polls conducted in a dozen states also favored the BJP, which is seen as a measure of PM Modi’s ability to win.
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While Tejashwi failed to turn the large crowds who attended his demonstrations into a landslide, the 31-year-old has established himself as a key state leader in his own right. He has managed to take Nitish Kumar to third place. But giving Congress 70 seats to contest may have been his biggest miscalculation.
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Congress this time contested more seats than in 2015, but ended up with far fewer. That has led his critics to once again label him a disadvantage with few leaders matching the appeal and vote-winning ways of PM Modi.
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The only star activist in Congress was Rahul Gandhi, none of the other Gandhis, his mother Sonia and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, traveled to Bihar.
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