Congratulating Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the trends indicating the mahagathbandhan's lead in the countdown to the Bihar Assembly election results, the Shiv Sena on Sunday said the defeat by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliances reflected directly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This is clearly a victory for Nitish Kumar as he has emerged as a 'mahanayak' in this election. We have been the monitoring the polls there and I can tell you that Nitish's win was necessary for Bihar. The people have decided that they want him as their Chief Minister," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI.
He added that just like party president Sonia Gandhi was held responsible for the Congress' loss in the elections in 2014, this loss by the BJP-led alliances in Bihar reflected directly on Prime Minister Modi and he should take responsibility for it.
"Prime Minister Modi should accept his defeat as a party's loss always reflects on its leader. However, on behalf of the Shiv Sena, I congratulate Nitish and hope the Bihar results will bring a new turn for the nation," Raut added.
The Party wise breakdown after 10 rounds of counting shows RJD with 74 seats, JDU with 69, BJP with 63, INC with 15, LJP with five, RLSP with four, HAM with three, CPI with two and others with six seats.
Meanwhile, putting up a brave face, the BJP branded the comeback by the Grand Alliance as 'interesting' and said they were ready to accept whatever was the mandate by Bihar.
Earlier, however, the BJP-led alliances had taken the lead in the trends and celebrations had already begun in the BJP offices in Patna.