Backed by Modi-Shah strategy, BJP scripts history in Bihar

Powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his confidant Amit Shah’s election strategy and planning, the BJP on Friday scripted history by emerging as the single largest party in the Hindi heartland state of Bihar, while the ruling NDA posted its second best show after 2010 when it had won 206 seats out of 243.

The BJP-led NDA tsunami effectively drowned the Opposition putting the Congress with six seats in almost the same bracket as Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha who won five seats each. The Congress and opposition RJD both came close to their worst show in Bihar which was in 2010 when the two had respectively won four and 22 seats. Lalu Yadav’s RJD ate a humble pie today as it sat on Election Commission trend charts with just 25 seats out of 143 contested.

The NDA with 202 seats presented a contrasting picture with the PM describing the victory as an endorsement of “good governance, development and pro-people spirit”.

Terming the results as “unparalleled”, Modi hailed the mandate for “sushasan” in clear signs that Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) would stay the Chief Minister of the ruling combine.

Bihar BJP too spoke of Narendra-Nitish in the same breath today as the Nitish-led party staged a phenomenal comeback from its 2020 tally of 43 seats. The BJP and JDU had for the first time contested equal number of seats (101 each) and both had a strike rate over 84%.

“Two brothers: Modi-Nitish ji duo are superhit. NDA’s historic win is the win of people’s mandate and good governance (sushasan),” BJP Bihar said in a post on X, as the alliance rooted for Nitish’s fifth term as Bihar CM. But inside the BJP Delhi headquarters, Modi was the champion of the game.

As the BJP won 89 seats followed by JDU (85), LJP Ram Vilas (19), Hindustani Awam Morcha (5) and Rashtriya Lok Manch (4), “Modi hai to mumkin hai” banners dotted the party office that wore a celebratory look.

Though Shah and party chief JP Nadda praised both the PM and Nitish for the results, BJP leaders privately attributed the party’s dramatic emergence as the top player in the state to the Modi-Shah combine’s plan.

Historicity of today’s mandate stood out in light of the fact that Bihar is India’s youngest state (40% population is below 18) and a state with the second highest rural population after Himachal Pradesh.

Top factors that scripted today’s outcome for the BJP were —early projection of NDA unity, smooth seat-sharing deal, zero rebel factor, clear poll narratives with focus on RJD’s jungle raaj, removal of illegal immigrants, cash benefit to women, Hindutva push and PM Modi’s personal campaign.

The PM’s campaign line in Bihar — “Narendra and Nitish will serve Bihar" — punctured the Opposition offensive that Nitish would be ousted as CM. Shah also backed Modi up by saying there’s no vacancy for the CM’s post.

The broad pro-Nitish signal was given to consolidate the JD(U) strongman’s carefully cultivated women and Extremely Backward Class vote base, and to project stability within the NDA coalition.

It worked as the NDA scored across regions, castes and communities, even sweeping the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region. Out of 24 seats in this region, the BJP had leads in eight, JD(U) in five and LJP in three. Owaisi’s AIMIM retained its hold here leading in five seats and denting the Congress-RJD bloc.

Modi’s constant presence on the campaign trail added a personal appeal to BJP’s strategy. He addressed 14 rallies and every segment where he went witnessed a historic surge in voter turnout helping the BJP convert sentiment into votes.

The PM also played big on the Sanatan and Hindutva pitch. After Rahul Gandhi’s “drama” reference to Bihar’s Chhath festival, Modi hammered that the NDA was working to get Chhath inscribed on the Unesco list of intangible cultural heritage while rivals were mocking the tradition.

The upcoming Rs 887-crore Ma Jaanki temple in Bihar’s Sitamarhi also proved a highly emotive issue that likely consolidated Hindu voters behind NDA.

BJP ground workers amplified Modi and Shah’s election messages including the need to purge the voter list of infiltrators and RSS cadres managed the rest of the mobilisation .

This ensured booth-level management under BJP’s Bihar poll in-charge Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“We went door to door to counter the Opposition’s vote theft offensive. Unlike the Lok Sabha elections where the Congress-led Opposition had succeeded in sowing suspicions among voters about BJP’s 400 plus seat victory claim, this time we suitably nipped all misinformation in the bud,” said a BJP leader deployed in Bihar elections.

“This historic win is an endorsement of the double engine government of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar and a sign that Bihar has chosen the path of development and stability, rejecting jungle raj, casteism, dynasties and negative politics,” Pradhan said commenting on the results, which the BJP described as another sign of Modi’s pro-incumbency politics.

The BJP plans to deploy its Bihar win, coming after similar victories in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi, as a springboard to take on the ruling TMC in West Bengal and DMK in Tamil Nadu in next year’s Assembly polls.

Top BJP sources also said the successive BJP victories in the Assembly elections have proved that the party’s Lok Sabha results were an aberration and the “Modi juggernaut remains unstoppable”.