While Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the clear big winners of the Bihar assembly elections, the biggest loser is not the Opposition bloc of Mahagathbandhan alone.
While the grand alliance of Opposition parties has certainly faced a setback, the verdict is seen to have particularly dealt a blow to the Congress, a national party that has been nearly eroded from the state's electoral politics.
The Weak Link?
The grand old party has been relegated to the margins, having won only six out of the 61 constituencies it contested. Its strike rate faltered below 10%.
Despite being a party with a national footprint, its electoral strength in Bihar is now smaller than various regional players.
The results seem to have undone the gains made by the Congress in Bihar in the last 15 years, and reduced the party to its decimated state in 2010. Back then, it had won only four seats.
All Talk No Show?
Another top loser in the Bihar assembly elections is the Vikashsheel Insaf Party (VIP) of Mukesh Sahni, which failed to open its account. In the last assembly polls, the VIP had won nine seats.
His switchover to the Opposition bloc, ahead of the elections, was projected as a key event in the electoral battle, as he was seen a major factor in influencing the votes of Mallah and Nishad communities.
VIP's wipeout also draws attention as Sahni, ahead of the polls, was named as the deputy chief ministerial candidate by the Mahagathbandhan.
PK Factor Flops
Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor led a spirited campaign, fielding candidates of his Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) in almost all constituencies of Bihar.
However, the JSP failed to open its account. In Kishor's own words before the polls, the party would be "either be on arsh (zenith) or farsh (floor)". The results point towards the latter scenario.
Critics argue that Kishor's decision to not enter the polls fray himself as a candidate damaged his party's prospects. A solace, however, could be the vote share that the JSP secures.
So far, the data released by the Election Commission shows that 'Others' have secured 70.19 lakh, or 13.99% of the total votes. It remains to be seen what share the JSP holds in this.
Lalu's Estranged Son
Tej Pratap Yadav's crushing defeat in Mahua grabbed headlines. The estranged son of Lalu Pradad Yadav had once served as the state cabinet minister, and was expected to gain an entry in the state assembly despite severing his ties with the RJD.
Tej Pratap lost the constituency by a margin of over 50,000 votes. He emerged as the second runner-up in Mahua, whereas the seat was won by Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)'s Sanjay Kumar Singh.
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