NDA tsunami hits Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, ruling coalition gets three-fourths majority; Congress alleges "vote chori"

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 15 : The National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) "tsunami" swept off the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats and the Janata-Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85, and the other allies of the ruling coalition also registering high strike rates.
The parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks, and Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for an impressive debut after its founder, Prashant Kishor, conducted an extensive campaign, failed to open its account.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed victory celebrations at the BJP headquarters, said the people of the country are voting for genuine social justice, in which every family is granted the opportunity, respect, and equality.
He took repeated digs at the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress and said the NDA's sweeping victory in Bihar has paved the way for the BJP's victory in assembly polls next year in West Bengal.
The news of a sweeping victory led to celebrations among the BJP, JD-U and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) workers in Patna and Delhi
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is poised to take oath for another term in office, with the goodwill among women for his initiatives and the Rs 10,000 given to over 1.20 crore women in Bihar under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana seen as key drivers for the NDA's success. The ruling alliance, which forged a cohesive alliance with a sizable support base before the polls, also got the support of the youth in large numbers.
In a post on X, Nitish Kumar thanked voters and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtirya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha.
He said Bihar will now progress even further with the support of all the NDA members.
"In the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections-2025, the people of the state have expressed their confidence in our government by giving us a massive majority. For this, I bow to all the esteemed voters of the state, and express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. I express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji for the support received from him, while bowing to him," he said.
"The NDA alliance has achieved a massive majority in this election by demonstrating complete unity. For this massive victory, thanks and gratitude are also due to all the partners of the NDA alliance - Shri Chirag Paswan Ji, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi Ji, and Shri Upendra Kushwaha Ji. With the support of all of you, Bihar will progress even further and will be included in the category of the most developed states in the country," he added.
The Congress, which was reduced to six seats, said elections in Bihar reflect "vote chori".
"Without doubt the election results in Bihar reflect vote chori on a gigantic scale - masterminded by the PM, the HM, and the Election Commission. The Indian National Congress renews its resolve to continue with even greater strength its campaign to protect the Constitution and save our democracy," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time NDA has crossed 200 mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.
In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.
In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) - CPI(ML)(L) - two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) - one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) one seat.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat.
Union Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda termed the NDA's massive victory in the Bihar Assembly elections a "tsunami" and said it reflected the complete trust of the people in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party's development-oriented politics.
"On behalf of all workers, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to the people of Bihar for the resounding mandate they have given. These results indicate that this is a tsunami. This tsunami has made it clear that whether it is the people of Bihar or the people of the country, everyone has unwavering faith in the Prime Minister, and they have put a seal of approval on the politics of development to take the state forward," Nadda said.
"This election was between development and jungle raj, and people have voted for development," he added.
PM Modi, who took repeated "jungle raj" jibes at RJD during his election campaign, thanked the people of Bihar for the NDA's sweeping victory in the state and said it has given a new positive "MY formula"- Mahila and Youth.
In his speech at the BJP headquarters here, PM Modi took another swipe at the Rashtriya Janata Dal and said that some parties in Bihar had created the appeasement formula of MY.
"But today's victory has given a new positive MY formula, and that is Mahila and Youth. Today, Bihar is among those states of the country which have the highest number of youth, and this includes youth from every religion and every caste. Their desire, their aspiration and their dreams have completely destroyed the old communal MY formula of the Jungle Raj people," he said.
He was referring to the perception in political circles that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) gets solid backing of Muslims and Yadavs (MY) in the elections.
PM Modi said that the BJP and its allies work hard for the welfare of people and have stolen their hearts.
"We are the servants of the people. We keep making the people happy with our hard work and we have stolen the hearts of the people. And that is why the entire Bihar has said 'Phir ek baar NDA Sarkar'",he said.
Taking a jibe at RJD, he said "Katta Sarkar" will never return to Bihar.
"Jai Chhathi Maiya, yeh prachand jeet, atoot vishwas, Bihar ke logo ne bilkul garda uda diya hai, " he said.
"When I used to speak about Jungle Raj and Katta Sarkar in Bihar elections, the RJD party raised no objections. However, this made the Congress uneasy. Today, I want to reiterate that Katta Sarkar will never return to Bihar...The people of Bihar have voted for Viksit Bihar...".
PM Modi said that Bihar election has strengthened people's trust in the Election Commission as he backed the exercise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted in different states of the country by the Election Commission, stating that the youth of Bihar have "overwhelmingly supported voter list purification".
He said people of the state have voted without fear, with enthusiasm and excitement.He took a dig at the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and said this is the same Bihar that was once dominated by Maoist terror and voting used to end at 3 pm in the Naxal-affected areas. He said elections were also marked by violence.
"This election has further strengthened the public trust in the Election Commission of India. The consistently high voter turnout over the past few years, the increased turnout by the deprived and the exploited, is a significant achievement for the Election Commission. This is the same Bihar that was once dominated by Maoist terror. Voting used to end at 3 pm in Naxal-affected areas. But in this election, people in Bihar have voted without fear, with enthusiasm and excitement," PM Modi said.
"You also know what used to happen in Bihar during the times of jungle raj. Violence used to occur openly at polling stations. Ballot boxes were looted. Today, the same Bihar is seeing record voter turnout. It is voting peacefully. Everyone's vote has been recorded. Everyone has cast their vote as per their choice," he added.
He also said that polls in Bihar were marked by repolling earlier, but the situation improved after the end of "jungle raj".
"Earlier, there was no election in Bihar where repolling did not take place. For instance, before 2005, repolling happened at hundreds of places. In 1995, repolling took place at more than 1500 polling stations. But as the jungle raj ended, the situation started improving, and in both phases of this election, there was no need for repolling anywhere. This time, the voting was peaceful," he said.
He urged people to participate enthusiastically in the SIR exercise.
"Today, I congratulate the Election Commission, our security forces, and the conscious voters of Bihar. The country is proud of all of you. The Bihar elections have proven another thing. Now, the country's voters, especially our young voters, take voter list purification very seriously. The youth of Bihar have also overwhelmingly supported voter list purification. And I believe that for the sanctity of democracy, every voter has their importance and rights," he said.
The Prime Minister said it is the responsibility of every party to activate their units at the polling booths and enthusiastically participate in the voter list purification work. "Contribute 100%, so that voter lists can be fully purified in other places as well," he added.
Opposition parties in Bihar had expressed strong reservations over the way the SIR exercise was conducted in Bihar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Congress "Muslim League Maoist Congress (MMC)," and stated that a faction within the party does not agree with this "negative agenda."
He accused Congress of following the "Muslim League-Maoist" agenda.
"Today, the Congress has become MMC- Muslim League Maoist Congress and the entire agenda of the Congress now revolves around this, and therefore, within the Congress as well, a separate faction is emerging that is uncomfortable with this negative politics...I fear that there could be another major split in the Congress," PM Modi said
He took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi over his dip in a pond in Begusarai during the election campaigning, saying that he practised to "drown himself and others" in the Bihar elections.
"Even the Congress allies are beginning to understand that the Congress is drowning everyone in its negative politics. That is why, during the Bihar elections, I said that the 'naamdar' of the Congress is practising to drown himself and others in the Bihar elections by taking a dip in the pond," he said.
He alleged that Congress is a "liability and a parasite" that is "swallowing the vote bank of its allies."
"I have previously warned Congress allies from this very platform. I said that Congress is a liability. Congress is a parasite that wants to make a comeback by swallowing the vote bank of its allies," he said.
PM Modi further assured the people that "Jungle Raaj" will never return to Bihar and dedicated the NDA's victory to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of the state.
"With the new government, the NDA is now moving forward towards a golden journey of 25 years in Bihar. Bihar has ensured that Jungle Raj will never return to this great land of Bihar. Today's victory belongs to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of Bihar who endured the terror of Jungle Raj for years under RJD rule," he said.
"It (victory) belongs to the youth of Bihar whose future was ruined by the terror of Congress and the Red Flag people. Today, that Red Corridor, those days of terror, are history. Bihar is moving forward on the path of development, and this journey is not going to stop now," he added.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was trailing from the Raghopur seat, later won it. Most ministers of the Nitish Kumar government won their seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Bihar Assembly election was "unfair from the beginning".
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was unfair from the very beginning," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
"This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress Party and the INDIA alliance will deeply review this result and make their efforts to save democracy even more effective," he added.
Women voters outnumbered men in the two-phase assembly elections held on November 6 and November 11. The state recorded a historic turnout of 67.13%, the highest since 1951, with 71.6% women voting compared to 62.8% men.
BJP leaders in their speeches took "jungle raj" jibes at RJD and referred to the cases faced by its leaders, including Lalu Prasad and Teshawi Yadav.
Lapses in stringing a cohesive alliance and lack of an effective election strategy that could match the social coalition of NDA were among the factors seen to have worked against parties in Mahagathbandhan. RJD's seemingly solid Muslim-Yadav (MY) support base did not deliver to the party's expectations. Rahul Gandhi's thrust on "vote chori" allegations did not find favour with the electorate.
In terms of vote share, RJD got 23 per cent votes, JD (U) got 19.25 per cent and BJP got 20.08 per cent.