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For Bihar, this is a dream combination: Sanjay Jha
NDA's Bihar victory is attributed to Nitish Kumar's governance and Modi's support, leading to strong voter confidence and no anti-incumbency issues.
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s impressive victory in Bihar is the outcome of sustained good governance by chief minister Nitish Kumar and the financial and logistical support by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Jha said in an interview. Edited excerpts
Q Did you anticipate this scale of victory ?
The response that we got across the state as the election picked pace made it clear that we are headed for a victory. Of course we did not expect these numbers (the JD(U) got 85 and the NDA 202), but we knew that it’ll be a massive mandate for us. Far from a dent in our votebank, we ended up expanding our footprint. There was no anger, resentment or disappointment with the government and there was no anti-incumbency against CM Nitish Kumar.
Q What are the reasons for Nitish Kumar bucking anti-incumbency despite being in power for so long?
It is very unusual for a CM not to face anti-incumbency. In a state like Bihar, “sushasan” (good governance) has been implemented in letter and spirit. It is not because we say so, people can feel it. Today, if you go to smaller towns and cities in Bihar, you will see women out on the roads late at night -- they go to work, college, and are seen preparing for services on open grounds. This was unthinkable before Nitish Kumar. People going about work and enjoying their lives is a concept that did not exist before him. Plus, the infrastructure that has been built, the roads, power, industries… This was absolutely missing before he became the CM. So, people have faith in him and they compare his tenure to what was there before him. The other thing is the support that we got from the Centre -- ‘double engine’ as we call it. The prime minister, in both the Union budgets in 2024 and 2025, ensured that Bihar got additional support, which helped ramp up infrastructure. He has been coming to Bihar almost every month and has announced big projects. In fact it was here in Madhubani that he announced Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against terrorism. For the people of Bihar, this is a dream combination -- Modi as PM at the Centre and Nitish Kumar here as the CM. People felt that this moment should not go waste as Bihar is ready for take-off, and this election will determine the fate of Bihar over the course of the next 25 years.
Q Many people think it’s the cash transfer of ₹10,000 to women beneficiaries that swayed the outcome in your favour.
To say that is to demean Bihar’s women. This money is not a freebie, this is the government’s commitment towards women empowerment. It has been given to these women so that they can start their own enterprise, it is for their further empowerment. Some women have bought a cow, others opened shops, what is wrong in this?
Q The BJP did not pitch a CM face, and Nitish Kumar was considered as the face of the election, but he has not made a public appearance and there is curiosity about whether he will take oath.
He put out a post on X yesterday… Aur sab jankari apko samay pe mil jaye gi (you will get the information at the right time).
Q You fought the election as part of a bigger alliance this time. What were the challenges?
It was a well-fought election, the entire NDA was intact and that is the reason we got such big numbers. The whole NDA remained one from the very beginning, whether it was over seat distribution or the campaign... There was no confusion at all.
Q The RJD promised government jobs, which was expected to strike a cord with the young voters. What went wrong with their strategy?
When Tejashwi (Prasad Yadav) was asked how many families are there in Bihar and where will the money come from, he looked askance and that is when people realised he doesn’t know anything, which was reflected in the results. Credibility in politics is very important. If the PM or Nitish Kumar make a promise, people have faith that they will deliver. He was only making false promises to come to power. The other thing is that the issues that they raised were derailed by their alliance partner -- the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi travelled in the state for about 14 to 16 days for a yatra. If this yatra was done when their own government was in power, they would not have been able to travel even for two days in the absence of roads. The roads that he travelled on were built by Nitish Kumar. There is not one person who said his vote was cut. We thank the Election Commission, the whole election was conducted without a single repoll, and in a peaceful manner.
Q What do you make of the Congress and Jan Suraaj’s performance in Bihar?
The Congress is wiped out in Bihar, the issues that they tried to raise were a non-starter. Whatever Rahul Gandhi did, jumping into the water, was just for the cameras and people realised he is not serious. First of all, he has nothing to do with Bihar. He only created a fake narrative about vote chori and SIR, just as he created before the 2024 parliamentary elections about ‘samvidhan khatre mein hai (Constitution is in danger)”...the government has been in power for over 1.5 years, how has democracy been affected?
As far as the Jan Suraaj is considered, I had already said that this will be a bipolar contest between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.
Q This was the first big election with you as the working president of the JD(U). What’s next for you and the party ?
It is a great victory for the party and our cadre. In the last election we contested 115 and won 43, this time we contested 101 and we got 85 seats. It’s a big victory but it is also a very big responsibility because we have to fulfil the mandate we have been given. We accept this mandate with humility, accept the responsibility that comes with this and as a party and government our priority will be to fulfil the promises that we’ve made to the people and prepare the roadmap for the next 25 years. The coming years are crucial for Bihar.
Q The PM said this is the victory of real social justice…
It is an endorsement of Nitish Kumar’s socialist credentials.The Prime Minister counted Nitish Kumar among the socialist stalwarts such as Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur. He is the only living socialist leader, the ones who claimed to be ‘samajwadi’ (socialist) have all turned ‘parivaarwadi’ (dynasts).
