New Delhi: The Congress, that was virtually wiped out of Bihar, surprised even its harshest critics by bagging 27 seats. The Grand Alliance registered an overall 41.9 per cent, with the RJD getting 18.4 per cent, JD(U) 16.8 per cent and Congress 6.7 per cent.
Marginalising the state BJP leadership, the Modi-Shah combine had taken it upon themselves to win Bihar for the party. Mr Modi became the first Prime Minister in recent years to have addressed nearly 30 rallies in any Assembly poll. This gamble boomeranged badly. While Mr Shah’s leadership has come under a cloud, Mr Modi’s reported charisma and his ability to lead the party to electoral triumphs is now open to question.
It was a pathetic show by the BJP as the party on its own got just 53 seats out of the 157 it had contested, while its allies also put up a poor show. The LJP, led by Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, and the RLSP of Upendra Kushwaha got two seats each.
Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi won only one of the two seats he contested and his outfit, HAM, lost in all the other 19 seats it fought.
Of the seven Independents and others elected, three are from the Left parties. The knives are clearly out in the BJP. Iconic filmstar MP Shatrughan Sinha was the first to draw blood.
“The issue of Bihari versus Bahri (outsider) has been settled once and for all,” Mr Sinha said, firing directly at the Modi-Shah duo.
BJP general secretary and Swadeshi Jagran Manch leader Murlidhar Rao claimed both these leaders had “betrayed the BJP” and were the reason for the party’s defeat. BJP MP from Bihar R.K. Singh questioned the distribution of tickets by the party.
Twisting the knife, ally Shiv Sena demanded the Prime Minister should take responsibility for the defeat. It also described Mr Nitish Kumar as a “mahanayak”.
The BJP’s stunning defeat is a clear indicator that the party had failed miserably to connect with voters. It did not just do badly in all regions of the state, but even its core votebank, the upper castes, deserted the party in favour of the Grand Secular Alliance, particularly the Congress.
While the BJP bit the electoral dust, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM sank without a trace in Bihar and with it the Modi-Shah duo’s hopes of splitting the Muslim vote. It was the first major electoral test after 2014 victory.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
