Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition appears poised to secure a comfortable victory in the impoverished and densely populated state of Bihar, according to Friday’s vote count, providing a rebound after last year’s disappointing national election results.
Bihar’s significance lies in its size and political weight: home to nearly 130 million people, it elects the fifth-highest number of lawmakers to India’s Parliament.
Winning control of this eastern state bolsters a party’s influence in the Hindi heartland and often shapes the broader national political discourse. Data from the Election Commission of India indicated that Modi’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was leading in over 170 seats, well above the 122-seat threshold needed for a majority.
The Bihar outcome would mark a sharp reversal for Modi, who lost his parliamentary majority in last year’s national elections and had to lean on allies to remain in power. Since then, his party has steadily regained ground, winning several key state contests.
Political analysts have said one of the key factors in the Bihar election was Modi’s September transfer of 75 billion Indian rupees ($853 million) to millions of women in the state under an employment programme.
Women voters across India have turned out in greater numbers over the past decade and political parties have competed to attract them.
Previously, men easily outnumbered women at India’s polling stations. Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari, who travelled across Bihar during the election – which was held in two phases on November 6 and 11 – said it was “just the women” who were set to give Modi a better result than what he received the last time.
According to a survey this week by Tiwari’s VoteVibe agency, Modi’s alliance secured 48.5% of the female vote, more than 10 percentage points higher than the main opposition bloc.
States including Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are due to go to the polls next year. Of those states, the BJP is in power only in Assam.
Source: Express Tribune