In a closely fought assembly election in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United won a constituency by just 12 votes. The Hilsa seat result has been contested by the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Tejashwi Yadav.
The Congress, which had contested 70 seats, had won just 14 and was leading at another 5 a strike rate of 27%. It had done especially badly in the seats where it was in a straight fight with the BJP. The three Left parties CPI(ML), CPM, and CPI had won or were leading in 17 of the 29 seats that they had contested, a strike rate of 58.6 %. The RJD, which had contested 144 seats, had won 60 and was leading at 16 a strike rate of about 53 %, according to data on the Election Commission website at 11.15 pm on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose rallies played a part in ensuring the NDA returned to power in the state, tweeted: “Voters in Bihar have made it clear that development is their only aspiration and priority… People’s blessings to NDA’s good governance even after 15 years of rule show what Bihar’s dreams and expectations are. The youth of the state have made it clear that the new decade will be of Bihar and for a self-reliant Bihar.”
He added in another tweet: “…from farmers to traders, from businessmen to shopkeepers, every section has trusted NDA’s sabka vikas, sabka vishwas. I assure each person that we will continue to work towards the development of the state.”
बिहार के प्रत्येक वोटर ने साफ-साफ बता दिया कि वह आकांक्षी है और उसकी प्राथमिकता सिर्फ और सिर्फ विकास है। बिहार में 15 साल बाद भी NDA के सुशासन को फिर आशीर्वाद मिलना यह दिखाता है कि बिहार के सपने क्या हैं, बिहार की अपेक्षाएं क्या हैं।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2020
Here are the seats where the victory margin was less than 1,000:
In Barbigha, Janata Dal (United) candidate Sudarshan Kumar defeated Congress’ Gajanan Shahi by just 113 votes. In Bhore, the victory margin was a mere 462.
The RJD’s Fatehbahadur trumped the BJP’s Satya Narayan in Dehri by a mere 464 votes. It was among any seats like Bakhri, Ramgarh, Chakai, Matihani, and Kurhani Assembly seats where victory came after a close fight.
According to the results updated on the Election Commission website late Tuesday night, JD(U)’s Krishnamurari Sharan alias Prem Mukhiya has polled 61,848 votes, while the RJD’s Atri Muni alias Shakti Singh Yadav has got 61,836 votes.
“Results declared,” the poll panel wrote in the ‘status’ column for Hilsa seat late Tuesday night. And in the margin column it wrote “12”.
