Athawale Welcomes Early NDA Surge in Bihar, Calls It a ‘Vote for Development’

By A Staff Reporter

Mumbai: As early counting trends from the Bihar Assembly Elections showed the NDA comfortably crossing the majority mark, Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale said the results reflected the people’s clear endorsement of development-led governance. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Athawale welcomed the alliance’s strong performance and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for driving voter confidence.

“This is exactly the trend we expected in Bihar. The people are supporting the path of development, and a lot of credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Athawale said. He contrasted the present administration with what he described as the “Jungle Raj” era under Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that deteriorating roads and persistent governance issues had shaped public perception in earlier years.

Highlighting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s two-decade tenure, Athawale noted that voters have repeatedly witnessed the impact of improved infrastructure, welfare schemes, and law-and-order measures. He added that Modi’s development package for Bihar further strengthened the alliance’s appeal across the state.

Athawale also pointed to the performance of NDA partners, saying, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the largest party in the NDA, followed by JD(U), which has also secured good seats. The party led by Chirag Paswan also performed well. I think this is a huge success.”

With counting still underway, he predicted that the NDA could secure “at least 195 seats” out of 243, noting that the alliance was already ahead in 187 constituencies. “With a few more gains of 8–10 seats, we can cross this number. I believe the people have voted decisively, and this was a vote for development,” he said.