NDA vote share dipped in Bihar, RJD gained ground

Aksheev Thakur

New Delhi, June 8

The NDA has performed better in Bihar winning 31 of the 40 seats in the state, but its vote share has dipped significantly, while the RJD, which won only four seats, has improved its vote share to 22.14 per cent this time from 15.17 per cent in 2019.

The BJP got a vote share of 20.5 per cent, a steep fall from 24 per cent in 2019. The JD(U), which won 12 seats, also witnessed a dip in its vote share from 22.27 per cent in the last elections to 18.52 per cent this time.

Bihar, where the Assembly poll will be held in 2025, will be a test for the NDA as in the Lok Sabha poll, its candidates could win by a margin of over two lakh votes only in Araria and Muzaffarpur.

BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who contested against RJD supremo Lalu Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya, won by a narrow margin of 13,600 votes. This was the smallest victory margin in the LS poll in Bihar. The highest victory margin was recorded in Muzaffarpur where BJP’s Raj Bhushan Chaudhary won by nearly 2.35 lakh votes, against Congress’ Ajay Nishad.

The Congress, which had won one seat in 2019, has won three this time, and its vote share has increased from 7.9 per cent in 2019 to 9.2 per cent now.

“The RJD, the Left and the Congress gave a good fight in these elections. The JD(U) is still a popular party. Despite aggressive campaigning by Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD could win only four seats. The Assembly poll will not be like last time. Nitish Kumar’s popularity cuts across caste lines in Bihar. Even among Muslims, he is perceived as a secular leader. The NDA — the BJP, the JD(U) and the LJP — will get a majority in next year’s Assembly poll,” a JD(U) leader said.