Tejashwi Yadav's RJD Gets More Votes Than BJP, JDU Despite Massive Setback In Bihar Polls

As the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained the power in Bihar, the opposition party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which faced its worst setback since 2010, has a reason to cheer -- maximum vote share.

The Tejashwi Yadav-led party received a vote share of 23 per cent, 2.92 per cent more than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 3.75 per cent more than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United (JDU), according to the data available on the website of the Election Commission.

The RJD, however, registered a slight dip from its 23.11 per cent share in the previous elections, when it had fielded 144 candidates and won 75 seats in the 243-member assembly, the most by any party.

This time, it contested 141 seats and won just 25 seats, its second-worst performance in a Bihar election after 2010, when it had secured only 22 seats.

Tejashwi Yadav, who was the chief ministerial face of the Opposition Mahagathbandhan, won his family stronghold, Raghopur, after a day-long, see-saw battle with NDA candidate Satish Kumar.

RJD's allies in the opposition bloc, Mahagathbandhan, also flopped, with the Congress winning just six seats, its second-worst performance in Bihar's electoral history. The Congress tally was only better than the four seats it won in 2010.

The CPI(ML)L won two seats, the CPI(M) bagged one and the CPI zero, taking Mahagathbandhan's total number of seats to 35.

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On the other hand, the NDA won 202 seats, with the BJP securing 89, the JDU 85, Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 19, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha five, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha four.

The BJP's vote share rose to 20.07 per cent from 19.46 per cent in 2020, even as it contested 101 seats in these elections compared to 110 in the last polls.

JDU's vote share also jumped to 19.26 per cent from 15.39 per cent in 2020. The party contested 101 seats this time, as against the 115 seats in the last elections.

The Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party and Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) couldn't open their accounts.

Bihar voted in two phases -- November 6 and November 11 -- and recorded a voter turnout of over 66 per cent, the highest ever in the state since 1951.

The turnout among male voters was at 62.8 per cent, while it was 71.6 per cent among female voters.