Bihar polls: Negative vote swing of 9% costs RJD-LJP dear
Patna: A negative swing of 9 per cent
votes cost the RJD-LJP alliance dear, while a positive swing
of 2.7 per cent catapulted the NDA to power with a landslide
victory bagging 206 seats in a House of 243 in Bihar.
JD-U's vote share went up from 19.85 per cent in 2005
to 22.58 and for ally BJP from 15.38 per cent to 16.49.
For NDA, which had a positive swing of 2.7 per cent --
it meant a lot as it enabled the alliance to wrest Bihar with
206 seats, 63 more than the 143 it won last time.
The Nitish Kumar-led NDA, which fought the polls on
the plank of development, maintenance of law and order, cycle
distribution scheme for boys and girls and good governance,
reaped a rich harvest, while a division in Muslim-Yadav votes
took a toll on the Lalu Prasad-Ram Vilas Paswan alliance.
NDA apparently gained from RJD and LJP's loss, as also
Independents' and Left parties, besides Congress, BSP and SP.
The NDA vastly improved upon its past performance in
practically all regions of the state. In Mithila region which
has 30 seats, NDA won 22 while RJD got seven and Congress one.
Similarly, out of 13 seats in Kosi division, NDA won
11 and RJD bagged two. In Saran division which has 24 seats,
NDA got 22 -- JDU-10 and BJP-12. RJD won just two seats.
In the Tirhut division with 49 seats, the NDA secured
44 while RJD won in 2 and others in 3.
Even in the 'Seemanchal' area close to the West Bengal
border which has a significant Muslim population, the NDA won
17 seats -- JDU (4 and BJP 13), while Congress got 3 seats
and LJP 2. The Bhagalpur division with 12 seats returned 10
NDA candidates while RJD-LJP and Congress won one each.
The NDA which lagged behind the RJD and its allies in
Munger division with just four seats against seven by
opponents in 2005, won 19 seats this time. Both RJD and LJP
failed to open their account.
RJD was a major loser in Patna-Rohtas region which has
43 seats. NDA won 36 (JDU-20 and BJP-16), while RJD got just
five seats and its ally LJP one. In Magadh division JD(U) got
16 seats, BJP 8, while RJD bagged one and others one.
RJD's attempt to reclaim the state after remaining out
of power for 5 years ended in a whimper as its vote share
fell sharply from 34.6 per cent in 2005 to 18.84 this time.
Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party was also a major loser
both in terms of seats and share of votes.
LJP's vote share came down from 11.58 per cent to 6.74
per cent this time and meant a loss of seven seats. The party
won only three seats. Congress vote share went up to 8.37 per
cent, but its seats came down from 9 to 4.
CPI had a negative swing of 0.58 per cent from 2.27 in
2005 to 1.69 this time, but it did not win any seat. CPI-M
polled 0.71 per cent votes, but failed to open its account.
The number of seats won by Independents, JMM and
others went down to 7 from 10, but their voting
percentage increased from 23.34 per cent to 27.13 per cent.
The CPI-Marxist-Leninist's seats polled 1.79 per cent
from 2.29 in 2005 and the party drew a blank.
BSP did not win any seat and saw a marginal decrease
of 1.11 per cent votes.
PTI