On the tally board, their alliances were separated by no fewer than 167 seats. By Friday afternoon, this gap was visible in the Ground Zero area as well, where only about 25 meters separate the party offices in Patna with a road in between.
On one side of Birchand Patel’s path there was complete celebration, and on the other side there was complete silence.
Since morning, party workers have started arriving at the JD(U) complex, men and women, across castes and classes. As news trucks lined up outside, they watched the vote-counting process on two large projectors. As the sun rose higher, so did the JD(U’s) tally, and with it, the joy of those gathered began as slogans of ‘Nitish Kumar Zindabad’ echoed. By noon, drums and firecrackers were blasting at full speed even as boxes of candy were being distributed.
Inside the JD(U) headquarters, a poster on the wall declared: “Poora Bihar humara parivar (The whole of Bihar is our family).” A few young men even broke into the photo reels. “Look, this is the JD(U) office, where the victory party is being held. Nitishji will also come (See, this is the JD(U) office, where the victory party is being held.
“CM Nitish Kumar will be here soon),” someone said into his phone. The party continued even though Nitish did not show up.
“He won… This one-sided victory is not just his victory, but it is a victory for the women of Bihar. He has supported women for so many years, so why should women stop supporting him? Tejashwi said he would donate Rs 2,500 if he comes to power, but Nitishji has already shown it by giving Rs 10,000,” said Sharda Devi, a party supporter, referring to the Mukhimmantri Mahila Rojjar Yojana campaign launched before the elections. Elections.
Behind her were two large posters featuring Nitish and highlighting two of his recent welfare schemes which many believe helped him win the elections.
One of the green posters read: “Burden on pockets reduced with 125 units of free electricity, Bihar shines and faces are lit.”
Another wrote in orange: “Every elderly person, widow and special needs person got dignity – pension increased to Rs 1,100, bringing smiles to everyone.”
Mohammad Farooq, who was part of the large group, said: “Muslims trusted Nitish before and they still trust him today. You can see how peaceful his government was for 20 years. The RJD treated Muslims as a vote bank, and they were not even given the post of deputy chief minister. Nitish has always stood with us.”
Some BJP members, whose office is located on the same road, also joined the celebrations. Carrying party flags and posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they greeted JDU supporters with hugs and smiles.
By late afternoon, the atmosphere at the BJP office had improved as the party’s winners began arriving. At around 4.30pm, as Deputy Prime Minister Samrat Chaudhary approached the gates, a large crowd surrounded him, many of whom came forward to take selfies. “This time, Bihar celebrated Diwali twice,” a party worker said.
Inside, a music system blared a song with the lyrics, “Gudiya Modiya Nitish ji ki hit hoi (The duo Modi and Nitish have become successful),” while workers danced to the beating of drums. “Those who work should get votes,” said one of them, Suresh Kumar, standing nearby. “Nitishji and Modiji have built Bihar over the past 20 years,” said Mayank Kumar, standing nearby. The public is not foolish enough to give RJD another chance to plunder and destroy Bihar.
In stark contrast, the RJD headquarters was quiet. There were no leaders. Tejashwi Yadav, who struggled to beat Raghupur, was missing out.
Inside, a projector was broadcasting the live scores but there were only a few chairs occupied. Somber faces reflected the outcome on screen. Near the lantern statue, the party’s symbol, a group of young supporters watched in disbelief. “Wherever Tejashwiji went, the crowds were huge, so how did he get so few seats?” someone wondered out loud.
“Last time, they were the largest party and this time too, they raised the right issues. They had support from the youth. But now the result is what it is. People will now understand why there is a need for a strong opposition,” said Saurabh Rai, an RJD supporter.
(Tags for translation) Landslide victory for NDA
