Defying every exit-poll projection, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) delivered a commanding victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, with 28 sitting ministers securing wins in their respective constituencies. One minister, however, fell short, marking the alliance's only notable setback in an otherwise sweeping mandate.
Results announced on Friday confirmed a landslide win for the NDA, leaving the Mahagathbandhan far behind. According to the Election Commission, the NDA bagged 202 seats - well above the 122-seat majority mark. The Bharatiya Janata Party claimed 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) with 85, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) with 19, the Hindustan Awam Morcha with 5, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha with 4.
The Mahagathbandhan struggled to breach even the halfway mark to 50, securing just 34 seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, while Congress managed six. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won two and one seat, respectively.
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM made notable gains with five seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Indian Inclusive Party picked up one seat each.
Ministers' Performance:
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha secured a decisive victory in Lakhisarai, defeating Congress's Amaresh Kumar by nearly 25,000 votes. Finance Minister and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary registered an even bigger win in Tarapur, beating RJD's Arun Kumar by over 45,000 votes.
However, Sumit Kumar Singh, Minister for Science, Technology and Technical Education, suffered the lone ministerial defeat, losing the Chakai seat to RJD's Savitri Devi by 12,972 votes.
Moti Lal Prasad, Minister of Art, Culture & Youth, was denied a ticket this election. In his place, BJP candidate Baidyanath Prasad contested from the Riga seat in Sitamarhi district and won by over 33,000 votes.
Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary retained his Sarairanjan seat with a margin of over 20,000 votes against RJD's Arbind Kumar Sahani.
Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav secured Supaul by over 30,000 votes, defeating Congress's Minnatullah Rahmani.
Co-operative Department Minister Prem Kumar won the Gaya Town seat by a margin of 26,423 votes over Congress's Akhaury Onkar Nath.
Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar clinched Nalanda with a victory margin exceeding 33,000 votes, defeating Congress's Kaushalendra Kumar.
Renu Devi, Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources, retained Bettiah by more than 22,000 votes against Congress's Washi Ahmad.
Health Minister Mangal Pandey won from Siwan by over 9,000 votes, defeating RJD's Awadh Bihari Choudhary.
Other ministers, including Neeraj Kumar Singh (Public Health Engineering), Leshi Singh (Food and Consumer Protection), and Madan Sahni (Social Welfare) secured victories in Chhatapur, Dhamdaha, and Bahadurpur, respectively.
Industries Minister Nitish Mishra delivered one of the largest margins, winning Jhanjharpur by over 50,000 votes against CPI's Ram Narayan Yadav.
Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin won Bankipur with a margin of over 51,000 votes, defeating RJD's Rekha Kumari.
Information and Public Relations Minister Maheshwar Hazari, Transport Minister Sheela Kumari, Education Minister Sunil Kumar, and Sugarcane Industries Minister Krishnanandan Paswan secured the Kalyanpur, Phulparas, Bhorey, and Harsidhi seats, respectively.
Building Construction Minister Jayant Raj, Minority Welfare Minister Mohd Zama Khan, Prohibition and Excise Minister Ratnesh Sada, Panchayati Raj Minister Kedar Prasad Gupta, and Sports Minister Surendra Mehata emerged victorious in Amarpur, Chainpur, Sonbarsha, Kurhani, and Bachhwara, respectively.
Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Sanjay Saraogi, Environment and Climate Change Minister Sunil Kumar, Tourism Minister Raju Kumar Singh, Urban Development and Housing Minister Jibesh Kumar, Disaster Management Minister Vijay Kumar Mandal and IT Minister Krishna Kumar Mantoo secured Darbhanga, Biharsharif, Sahebganj, Jale, Sikti and Amnour seats respectively.
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