Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people today and said the latest round of elections is very important as it is reflecting the outcome of last year's Lok Sabha elections. At a meeting this evening to celebrate the BJP's victory in Bihar and a series of by-polls in 12 states, he said "Not just in Bihar, we won in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and even in Telangana and Ladakh. The BJP won everywhere".
The party had scooped up more than 50 seats in the by-elections.
"In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP returned to govern with greater numbers than what is got in 2014. In Bihar too, the BJP was the only party which saw a growth in seats while contesting a fourth consecutive term with our partners. In Gujarat too, the BJP has been in power since the '90s, yet even in the latest by-elections too, we won comprehensively... It shows that people are seeing who is working for them," he added.
The BJP, PM Modi said, is the only one which "truly has a national connect" with the people of India. "From just two MPs and two rooms, the BJP today is there in every corner of India," he said to slogans of "Modi hai toh mumkin hai (Anything is possible when Modi is around)" from party workers.
"I don't just want to thank them (the people) for supporting us, but for participating in the democratic process. For coming out and doing their bit. The elections that happen in India are unparalleled in the entire world," he added.
Yesterday's victory in Bihar is the first for the party since last year's general elections that will lead to government formation by the BJP and ally Nitish Kumar.
The other state election which took place since the Lok Sabha polls -- in Maharashtra -- had gone sour for the BJP as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ended their decades-long alliance. After differences with the BJP over power sharing and the Chief Minister's post, the Sena had broken away and formed government with the Congress and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party.
In Bihar, the BJP had made it clear from the beginning that Nitish Kumar would remain the Chief Minister despite the misgivings of a section of the party.
After the results, the BP so far has remained steady on that point, despite catapulting itself to the position of the big brother in the state after decades of alliance, with a massive win of 74 seats. Mr Kumar's Janata Dal United had shrunk to 43 seats – 28 down from its score of 71 in 2015.
The BJP workers had turned out in strength at the party headquarters in central Delhi to celebrate the memorable victory. Throwing caution to winds, hundreds of party workers were seen packed tightly in the courtyard of the building despite the ongoing coronavirus surge.
The event was also attended by the party's master strategist Amit Shah, current party chief JP Nadda and Union minister Nitin Gadkari.