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North-south, Mythili-Bhojpuri, rich-poor and forward-backward — all such divisions seem to have collapsed in Bihar. The JD(U)-RJD-Congress Grand Alliance, by winning 178 seats, has made inroads into the upper caste belts too, traditionally a BJP stronghold. It apparently has also eaten into the Maha Dalit and Dalit votes.
In the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal area, in districts such as Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar, the Grand Alliance won 21 out of the 29 seats. The NDA managed seven. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which posed a threat to the Grand Alliance, could win just 0.2 per cent votes in the area that borders West Bengal.
In Nalanda, the home district of Nitish Kumar, the alliance won six out of the seven seats. It also performed well in the other districts in the south, such as Patna, Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya and Arwal. In the south, the BJP gained only the Patna seats. Of the 14 seats in Patna district, the NDA won seven and Grand Alliance, six.
In north Bihar, too, the alliance did well. East Champaran is the only district that stood with the NDA, which got eight seats out of 12. In Darbhanga and Madhubani, the Grand Alliance got eight seats each. The area has a considerable presence of Mythili Brahmins, who reportedly decided against the BJP.
The Paswan factorThe BJP’s inability to form an alliance with the Dalits, despite the presence of Ram Vilas Paswan, is considered one reason for the defeat. Even in districts considered Paswan strongholds, such as Vaishali, the alliance bagged six out of eight seats. The Union Minister’s home turf, Hajipur, falls in Vaishali.
Though the NDA won more than 34 per cent seats, except in three, the alliance lost by about 100 votes. In six constituencies, the winning margin of the Grand Alliance was more than 50,000.
The small parties failed to make an impact. The BSP, which contested all seats, got 7.5 lakh votes and 2 per cent of the total votes polled. The Left parties got 3.5 per cent votes and three seats. The NCP, which contested alone after walking out of the front formed by the SP, managed 0.5 per cent votes. The SP, which contested 85 seats, could manage 3.80 lakh votes.
Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav also failed to make his presence felt, while None of The Above (NOTA) got 2.5 per cent votes.
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