In a verdict that left even experts groping for words, Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance rode to victory on its law and order and development plank and won an incredible 205 of the 243 states. The JD-U bagged 115 and the BJP 91.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) combine led by Lalu and Ram Vilas Paswan, considered kingmakers until just a few years ago, won 25 seats in which the RJD got 22.
And the Congress, which rules the country and contested all 243 seats, was left lagging at a humiliating third with a dismal 4 seats, less than even the 9 it mustered in the 2005 poll. Independents and others won 8 seats.
Nitish has been credited with restoring law and order to the anarchic state and building thousands of kilometers of roads and initiating several developmental projects during his five-year term.
Emphatic, resounding, decisive… Many adjectives did the rounds as analysts and politicians attempted to grasp the extent of the poll victory that has propelled JD-U chief Nitish to a second term of governing the state of 83 million. The trends were seen right from 8 a.m. when counting began of the 28 millions votes polled from Oct. 21 to Nov. 20. It was largely seen as a victory of law and order and development versus the regressive politics of caste that had for long dominated the state, considered one of the poorest and most backward.
Stating that development had won in Bihar, Nitish said people wanted to put the state on the path of progress and pointed out that this election had seen more women voters than men.
The time to talk has ended,” he said, adding that those who fought the election on the basis of caste had been defeated.
People have awakened, this will write its own story. This election has written a new story,” the toast of Bihar said.
Although both the JD-U and BJP, who have been aligned since 1996, made substantial gains over their 2005 strength, leaders of both credited the win largely to the charisma of Nitish.
As wild celebrations broke out in the JD-U and BJP headquarters in Delhi and Patna, BJP leaders stepped out one by one to hail the victory — Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar.
“I congratulate the people of Bihar for showing extreme maturity,” Jaitley said.
“It marks a new signal in Indian polity. It is a victory of meritorious leadership over dynastic politics,” he said, taking a swipe at the Congress, which fielded its President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi for campaigning in the six-phase elections.
“We didn't have much hope,” Sonia Gandhi admitted while talking to reporters outside her residence. “The results indicate that our party has to start from scratch and that is what we plan to do.”
Her colleague Home Minister P. Chidambaram added while congratulating Nitish for the “great show” that the “development argument has prevailed.”
“We wish them the best for running a progressive and forward looking government,” Chidambaram said.
Smarting under the humiliating defeat that saw his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi routed as well as his brothers-in-law, RJD chief Lalu Prasad congratulated long-time rival but not the BJP as he “hates” it for its communal views.
As the political world wrote his political epitaph, he said: “We are not discouraged, we will do our duty as the opposition.”
In political analyst G.V.L. Narasimha Rao's views, this election result showed that leadership, development and law and order were becoming crucial factors while caste and other such factors were becoming less prominent.
“There are many elections which resulted in this kind of outcome,” Rao said, adding that it was very unusual for the Hindi heartland though not so in places like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. While analysts debated, there was also a groundswell of support for events back home from the many migrant workers and youngsters who left home for better opportunities.
“Maybe this was the gamechanger that would ensure that their state was no longer “backward,” they hoped.
