Patna, November 17: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) held a crucial meeting on Monday to analyze its poor performance in the recent Bihar Assembly election. The Mahagathbandhan alliance, led by the RJD, secured only 35 seats, with the RJD itself winning 25 of them. In contrast, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) triumphed with a commanding 202 seats out of 243, a result that RJD leaders have expressed difficulty in accepting.

Following the meeting, RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said, "The party's top leadership, including party chief Lalu Yadav, former CM Rabri Devi, and senior leaders such as Jagadanand Singh and Uday Narayan Singh, reviewed the election outcome. Neither the public nor political parties can digest the result. This mandate, we believe, is the result of systematic manipulation." He further remarked, "A 90% strike rate is impossible for any political party to achieve. This outcome is the product of machinery management."

Bhai Virendra, a newly elected RJD MLA, went further, alleging that "vote theft" had occurred through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). He demanded that future elections be conducted with paper ballots, stating, "EVMs have been tampered with. We have to fight against the misuse of these machines. We demand a return to ballot papers."

Senior RJD leader Jagadanand Singh echoed these sentiments, accusing the EVMs of being misused during the election. He emphasized the party's concerns about the integrity of the voting process.

In stark contrast, the NDA, led by Nitish Kumar, secured a resounding victory in the elections. The NDA coalition won 202 seats, with the BJP emerging as the largest party with 89 seats. The other members of the NDA include JD(U) with 85 seats, LJP (RV) with 19 seats, HAM (S) with 5 seats, and RLM with 4 seats. On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan coalition managed to secure just 35 seats, with the RJD winning 25, the Congress securing 6, CPI(ML)(L) winning 2, and CPI(M) getting 1 seat. IIP won 1 seat, and AIMIM secured 5 seats.

The NDA's success is largely attributed to Nitish Kumar’s popular welfare schemes, notably the Mahila Rozgar Yojana, which provided ₹10,000 each to 1.25 crore women across Bihar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory, praising it as a triumph for good governance and development.