Bihar polls: BJP, allies hail 'historic' win; opposition points to 'EC role'

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The BJP and its allies hailed Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar's good governance and development work for the NDA's decisive win in the Bihar elections, while the Opposition questioned the Election Commission's role in the SIR and poll code violations by the ruling alliance for its drubbing.

The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in close to 200 out of 243 seats on Friday, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with nearly 95 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi termed the NDA's landslide win as a victory of good governance, development and the spirit of public welfare and social justice.

In a series of posts on X, Modi also congratulated the BJP's alliance partners -- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, LJP-RV supremo Chirag Paswan, HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi and RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha.

The prime minister said the resounding public mandate will empower the NDA to serve the people and work with new resolve for Bihar.

BJP president J P Nadda hailed NDA's victory in Bihar polls as "historic" and said it is a seal of trust for development and welfare policies of the "double engine" government of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the overwhelming mandate for the NDA in Bihar is the people's stamp of approval on its work for development, women's safety, good governance and the welfare of the poor.

In a series of posts on X, Shah said that in the last 11 years, the prime minister has worked wholeheartedly for Bihar and Nitish Kumar has worked to pull the state out of the darkness of 'jungle raj'.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "This is a historic victory for the politics of development. The three-fourths majority received by the NDA in this election is a testament to the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his credibility, and the unwavering trust of the people in the politics of good governance and development." Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said the mandate in Bihar is an emphatic vote of confidence in Modi's leadership.

"The people of Bihar have delivered a clear and unmistakable message — they have rejected the forces of corruption, chaos and jungle raj, and chosen the path of Mangal Raj, development and dignity. The Congress and its allies, surviving only on caste arithmetic and divisive narratives, have been decisively wiped out," he said in a statement.

"It is deeply regrettable that the Leader of Opposition stooped to making the SIR issue the centre of the campaign, and even attempted to undermine the credibility of the Election Commission — an institution respected across the world," Shinde said.

The opposition pointed to alleged collusion between the Election Commission (EC) and the BJP as one of the main reasons for the massive victory of the NDA.

Congress general secretary Bhupesh Baghel took a swipe at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying he played a "crucial" role in the Bihar assembly elections and was "responsible" for the poll outcome.

The former Chhattisgarh chief minister also said things were "clear" the way the Election Commission functioned.

Talking to PTI, Baghel, who is Congress' senior observer for Bihar elections, said, "The trends indicate that the NDA is heading towards a three-fourth majority. (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah had already spoken about this (outcome). If there is one person responsible for this entire election (result), it is Gyanesh Kumar. Congratulations and best wishes to him in advance for this." Accusing the Election Commission of "colluding" with the ruling party in Bihar, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot claimed that cash and benefits -- including Rs 10,000 to women -- were distributed to voters despite the model code of conduct being in force in the then poll-bound state.

The former chief minister of Rajasthan termed the trends of the Bihar assembly election results “disappointing” and said pension payments and cash transfers continued unabated during the campaign period.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the "game" carried out through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar will no longer be possible in other states.

Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh also raised questions on EC's role and posted his previous statement pointing to the poll watchdog's alleged biased role.

There were also words of caution and calls for introspection within the opposition camp.

Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor called for serious introspection for the reasons for Mahagathbandhan's defeat.

After the Congress' worst-ever drubbing in the Bihar polls, party stalwart late Ahmed Patel's daughter Mumtaz Patel alleged that the party's failures are due to the concentration of power in the hands of a few leaders who are totally disconnected from the ground reality.

In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Dear Opposition Leaders, unsolicited advice. Speak to the women of the country. An alternative cannot be without them. Thank you." PTI ASK SKU PK TKP SKC SDA ACB ASK SKY SKY