In a huge setback to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), an opposition grand alliance ( Mahagathbandhan) led by chief minister Nitish Kumar is heading for a clear majority in the legislative assembly of the Bihar province in India.
The alliance, comprising of Nitish Kumar's Janta Dal (United), JDU, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Congress, is leading in 159 seats while BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is leading in 75 seats as per Election Commission officials, according to Indian Express.
"I thank the people of Bihar for their overwhelming support & blessings for the Mahagathbandhan," Kumar tweeted after trends showing the clear majority to the Grand alliance.
BJP leader Ram Madhav conceded defeat, saying that the results show a photo finish comeback for Nitish Kumar.
"What a comeback for JDU+. In 1 hour their leads hv overtaken dat of ours. It looks a photo finish. What an election," he said, according to Live Mint.
Senior BJP leader from Bihar Shatrughan Sinha criticized his party after the election outcome, saying that there will be lot of lessons learned from the elections.
"There will be a lot of lessons learnt from the Bihar elections but the developmental agenda of Bihar cannot and will not be reversed," Sinha said, according to ABP Live.
The five-phase Bihar assembly elections had began on Oct. 12 and ended on Nov. 5. Counting of votes began Sunday morning.
