Shashi Tharoor Urges Caution as NDA Leads in Bihar, Calls for ‘Detailed Analysis’ of INDIA Bloc Performance

By A Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: As early trends in the Bihar Assembly Elections showed the National Democratic Alliance holding a significant lead, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday urged restraint, saying the final outcome should be awaited before making any political assessments. Speaking to reporters, Tharoor acknowledged the NDA’s large early margin but stressed that counting was still in progress and conclusions should be drawn only after the Election Commission announces the final results.

“It’s a question of leading at the moment. They are leading by a rather large margin. But let’s wait for the Election Commission to discuss and disclose the results,” he said. Reflecting on the INDIA bloc’s performance, Tharoor noted that the Congress was not the senior partner in the alliance and that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) would also have to closely examine its electoral showing. “I am sure that the party has a responsibility to study in detail the causes… it’s very important that we look at the totality of our performance. Elections are about a number of factors,” he added.

Tharoor also raised concerns over pre-election welfare incentives targeted at women voters. “The women voters were certainly given some incentives just before the Code of Conduct. Whether we like it or not, unfortunately, that is legal under our laws,” he said, cautioning that such practices, though permissible, influence electorate behaviour. He pointed out that similar strategies had been seen previously in Maharashtra and other states, calling it “not a healthy practice.”