NDA Set for Decisive Victory in Bihar Elections
The counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections is currently underway, and early trends indicate a massive victory for the National Democratic Alliance. The coalition appears poised to return to power with a much stronger mandate than previously anticipated, validating most exit poll predictions.
Current data shows the NDA leading in a remarkable 182 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark in the 243-member assembly. In contrast, the opposition Mahagathbandhan is ahead in only 57 seats, signaling a substantial shift in voter sentiment across the state.
Party-wise Performance Breakdown
The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 81 seats, while its ally JD(U) is ahead in 80 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is performing well with leads in 22 seats. On the opposition side, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is leading in 33 seats, while the Congress party is struggling with leads in just 5 seats.
Smaller parties and independents are also making their presence felt. The CPI(ML)(L) is ahead in 6 seats, and HAMS is leading in 4 seats, indicating some regional variations in voting patterns.
Congress Leaders Allege Electoral Manipulation
Senior Congress leaders have reacted strongly to their party's poor performance, directing their criticism toward the Election Commission of India. Congress MP Manickam Tagore took to social media platform X to express his concerns, stating: "When you delete 65 lakh voters—mostly from the opposition's voters—what do you expect on result day? Democracy cannot survive if the playing field is tilted before the match even begins."
Congress leader Pawan Khera went further in his media interactions, specifically targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. "As I said, the initial trends in itself show that Gyanesh Kumar appears to be succeeding against the people of Bihar. This fight is not between the BJP, Congress, RJD, and JDU. This is a direct fight between Gyanesh Kumar and the people of India," Khera asserted.
He added: "These are just early trends, we're waiting a bit. The initial trends certainly suggest that Gyanesh Kumar is gaining an upper hand over the people of Bihar... I can't underestimate the people of Bihar. They have shown courage. They showed it despite the SIR. Now, let's see in the coming hours how effective Gyanesh Kumar will be."
Special Intensive Revision Under Scrutiny
Congress leader Udit Raj echoed similar concerns, pointing specifically to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission as a major factor in the party's disappointing performance.
In an interview with ANI, Raj stated: "SIR is leading. I won't say that this victory is of the BJP-JD(U); this is a victory of the Election Commission, of SIR. After the voter list was sanitised, lakhs of discrepancies were pointed out, but the EC didn't respond to even one."
He further elaborated on the alleged irregularities: "When objections were being raised, 89 lakh objections were raised. Still, EC said that nobody is raising any complaint. When they stoop to this level of cheating, what can we say? This is murder of democracy... If you delete the names of Opposition voters and send back thousands of voters despite them having digital slips...there was a wave of change in Bihar...BJP leaders were chased away by people at several locations. So, how are they winning? I feel this is a victory of SIR."
The final results of the Bihar Assembly elections are expected to become clearer as the day progresses, with the NDA appearing to secure a comfortable majority that could shape the state's political landscape for the coming years.
