New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Grand Alliance scored a stunning win today in the assembly elections, dealing a major blow to the BJP and sparking opposition attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who led his party's challenge in the bitterly contested battle.
The JD(U), RJD and Congress grabbed over 42 per cent of all the votes in the five-phased elections that began on October 12 and concluded on November 5. The BJP alliance got 38 percent.
India TV brings to you 10 points that helped Nitish to win the election for the 3rd time:
1. Mohan Bhagwat's remark on reservation policy: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remark to review caste-based reservation came at an inappropriate time. His remark surely damaged the BJP's chances in the state, giving ammunition to the Grand Alliance leaders. Lalu Yadav used Bhagwat's remark to invoke the forward vs backward contest.
2. Muslim factor: There are 16 per cent Muslims in Bihar. Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) was supposed to play a crucial role in the polls but it failed drastically. Muslims voted in favour of the 'Grand Alliance'. The coming together of Lalu and Nitish helped consolidate the Muslim vote. Lalu and Nitish easily, especially after Dadri lynching incident, motivated Muslims to vote against the BJP.
Also Read: Bihar polls: Final tally and complete list of winning candidates
3. Nitish's popularity: Nitish Kumar's popularity among Bihar people is well known. He is known for delivering good governance in Bihar in last 10 years. In all surveys conducted in Bihar ahead of the polls, he emerged as the most popular CM candidate. This victory, third consecutive win of Nitish, proves that he is a performing Chief Minister. Also, Kumar emerged as a promising face who could now be seen as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
4. Har Ghar Dastak (Knock-on-Doors) campaign: Nitish did a Har Ghar Dastak (Knock-on-Doors) campaign. This helped him to connect with the people directly and built up a personal relationship. Instead of addressing big rallies, he addressed small groups and individual crowds. This surely benefited him and his party to make voters feel closer to their leader.
Read Also: Nitish's role greater than Lalu in the victory: Chirag Paswan
5. Modi wave failed to reach polling stations: PM Modi is surely the most popular leader in the country but the BJP can't hope to win every election in his name. His rallies witnessed massive turnout but it couldn't be converted into votes. Like 2014 Lok Sabha polls and few other Assembly elections, the saffron party was extensively banking on Modi factor in Bihar this time. During general election, Modi was the CM of Gujarat and attracted voters. But, as the Prime Minister, he failed to answer for a number of issues including skyrocketing prices of pulses and growing 'intolerance'.
6. Lack of local leadership in NDA: The BJP had no strong face in Bihar. Also there was a time when the BJP used to announce its face for each polls. But in Bihar polls, the party followed the footstep of its decision taken during Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu Kashmir Assembly polls. The party didn't announce anyone's name for the CM post. Grand Alliance leaders raised this issue extensively and attacked the BJP.
7. Assembly Polls vs General Election: Another factor is the shift of tendency among people to differentiate between different elections -- Assembly and Lok Sabha. Likewise Delhi Assembly polls, people rejected the BJP in Bihar polls. Nitish's campaigning team under Prashant Kishore, who had worked for PM Modi during the Lok Sabha polls, successfully exploited this PM-CM dichotomy. He pegged it as a 'Bihari vs Bahari' contest and the result is now in front of all.
8. VK Singh's Dog remark: Union Minister VK Singh's remark that the government cannot be held responsible if a stone is thrown at a dog gave more ammunition to the Grand Alliance to motivate voters to reject BJP. Nitish and Lalu criticized Singh and Modi and convinced the Dalits to sideline BJP.
9. Weak allies: Nitish Kumar's grand-alliance performed astoundingly because of the strong performances by all three parties of the alliance. While Lalu Yadav's RJD has emerged as the single largest party, Congress performed surprisingly well which has won seven seats and is leading on other 19. On the other hand, Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP was limited to two seats; Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM and Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP won two seats each.
10. Price rise: Rising prices of essential commodities like Pulses and onions cost much to the BJP-led NDA. The middle class voters in Bihar directly blamed central government for the rising prices and that discontent reflected in their voting patterns.
