Business Standard

Modi Wave wipes out JD(U), RJD in Bihar

Ruling party in Bihar managed to win only Nalanda, Nitish's traditional stronghold, and Purnea LS seats

Satyavrat Mishra Patna
The "Modi wave" completely wiped out the ruling Janata Dal (United) and the Lalu Prasad led RJD for the political map of Bihar. The NDA managed to capture almost 80% constituencies in the state.

The worst hit by this "Modi wave" was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD (U), which was decimated in this election. It's tally is down to just two seats, while the party had 20 members in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Not even party president Sharad Yadav could save his seat. He was defeated by RJD's Pappu Yadav from Madhepura.

The ruling party in Bihar managed to win only Nalanda, Nitish's traditional stronghold, and Purnea parliamentary constituencies. It was not even in contest in most of 40 seats in Bihar.
 
Most of the party leaders could not even gather strength to face media. Party office and Kumar's official residence bore a deserted look on Friday. Kumar wrote a simple one line message on his Facebook page that he respects the people's mandate.

On the other hand, RJD's Lalu Prasad accepted defeat, while declaring this as a conspiracy against himself as his party. "I accept the verdict. I know that there is a conspiracy against me and I will expose it one day. I will continue working against communal forces."

The biggest setbacks for the RJD were the defeat of former Chief Minister Rabari Devi and her daughter Misa Bharti. Rabri Devi was defeated in Saran by BJP's Rajeev Pratap Rudy, whereas saffron party's Ramkripal Yadav defeated Lalu's daughter Misa in a close electoral battle in Patliputra.

Even senior RJD leaders like Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Jagatnand Singh and Abdul Bari Siddiqui were defeated in this election. The RJD managed to secure only 4 seats, just like the 2009 election. Bihar also gave jolts to Congress, and its several prominent members lost electoral battles including outgoing Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and former governor of Kerala Nikhil Kumar.

The NDA captured 31 seats in this election. The BJP led the collation by winning 22 seats (+10), whereas the LJP won 6 and the RLSP won all 3 seats it contested. The saffron party leaders have asked for Kumar's resignation on moral grounds, saying that the chief minister has lost popular support.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: May 16 2014 | 8:00 PM IST

Explore News