The Lok Sabha election results have unequivocally confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's star power continues to hold sway in Bihar, demolishing caste barriers as voters fervently endorse Brand Modi. The NDA's capture of 30 seats in Bihar has been pivotal in Narendra Modi's prospects of forming the NDA government for the third consecutive term.
According to election outcomes, the BJP clinched 12 seats, while the Janata Dal (United) also bagged 12 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party (Paswan) won 5 seats, and the Hindustani Awam Morcha secured a single seat. BJP, out of 17 contested seats, won 12, whereas the JD(U) fought for 16 seats and won an equal number. Meanwhile, the LJP emerged victorious in all 5 constituencies it contested.
The JD(U)'s performance in Bihar clearly underlines that Nitish Kumar's decision to join the NDA back in January was astute. At that time, there were 16 JD(U) parliamentarians; all advocating for a return to the NDA, positing that to be re-elected in the Lok Sabha, they would require the appeal of Brand Modi, much like in 2019 when JD(U) triumphed in 16 out of 17 seats.
Looking at the performance of the Grand Alliance, Tejashwi Yadav's vigorous campaign notwithstanding, the RJD managed to win only 4 seats after contesting 23. Congress, too, garnered wins in only 3 of the 9 seats it contested. This poor performance by the Grand Alliance indicates that JD(U)'s situation could have been far worse had it stayed with them during these elections.
During the campaign, many believed that Nitish Kumar's frequent political flip-flops were eroding his credibility and that people were reluctant to vote for him or his party. But as this was a national election, with JD(U) siding with the BJP in Bihar, the people chose to lend their support to JD(U).
The recent tide of the elections suggests a reduction of NDA's seat count from 39 in 2019 to 30 in 2024, pointing towards popular discontent against Nitish Kumar rather than a Tejashwi Yadav wave, as RJD would not have been confined to 4 seats otherwise.
