Bihar Cliffhanger Goes The NDA Way
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-11-11 11:17:58
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
At the end of a most dramatic day of counting in which fortunes swung one way or the other and many seats hung on the edge with the thinnest of margins, the NDA managed to pip the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) and secured a majority. The final figures showed an almost unchanged assembly - NDA 125, MGB 110 and others 9. But within these numbers, there was much that changed.
For one, in the NDA, the BJP emerged as the senior party by winning 74 seats, a gain of 21 from 2015. It got a vote share of 19.4%. The JD(U), with just 43 seats, suffered a loss of 28 seats. It got a vote share of just 15.4%. Although it is clear that it was a vote against the JD(U) and Nitish Kumar, after the Maharashtra fiasco with the Shiv Sena, the BJP cannot afford to remove Kumar as chief minister. But it will have much more bargaining power now. The other parties who performed well in the NDA were Jiten Ram Majhi's HAM and the VIP who together won 8 seats. They will now have to be accommodated in the cabinet.
In the MGB, although the RJD suffered a loss of 5 seats from 2015, its vote share increased to 23.1, the best among all parties contesting the elections. The Congress lost 8 seats and much of its bargaining power in the alliance. The Left parties were the surprise packet of these elections. They won 16 seats (CPIM(ML) 12, CPM 2 and CPI 2), Although the Left traditionally had a strong base in parts of south Bihar, the influence was waning in recent times. This performance will surprise many and boost the confidence of these parties.
The other surprise packet was Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. It won 5 seats in the Seemanchal area. But more than that, it dented the prospects of the MGB in many places. The biggest loser was Chirag Paswan. His party won just one seat. But a deeper analysis showed that he might have played spoilsport for JD(U) in at least 20 seats where his party came either second or third. It also shows that had the LJP not left the NDA in Bihar, the alliance might have probably won another 10 to 15 seats.
Lead picture courtesy: news18.com
