On the tally board, their alliances were separated by at least 167 seats. By Friday noon, this gulf was evident on Ground Zero, too, where just about 25 metres separate their party offices in Patna with a road in between.
On one side of Beerchand Patel Path was complete celebration — on the other, complete silence.
Since morning, party workers had begun arriving at the JD(U) compound, men and women, across caste and class. With news vans lined up outside, they watched the vote count on two large projectors. As the sun climbed higher, so did the JD(U)’s tally and, with it, the joy of those gathered as slogans of “Nitish Kumar zindabad” started echoing. By noon, the drums and firecrackers were out in full blast even as boxes of sweets were passed around.
Inside the JD(U) headquarters, a wall poster announced: “Poora Bihar humara parivar (The whole of Bihar is our family).” A few youngsters even gatecrashed to film reels. “Dekhiye, yahi hai JD(U) ka office, jahan jeet ka jashn chal raha hai. Nitishji bhi aate hi honge (See, this is the JD(U) office where the victory party is on.
CM Nitish Kumar will be here soon),” one of them said into his phone. The party continued even though Nitish did not make an appearance.
“He has won… this one-sided victory is not just his, but a victory for the women of Bihar. He has supported women for so many years, so why would women stop supporting him? Tejashwi said he would give Rs 2,500 if he came to power, but Nitishji has already shown it by giving Rs 10,000,” said Sharda Devi, a party supporter, referring to the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana launched before the elections.
Behind her stood two large posters featuring Nitish and highlighting two of his recent welfare schemes that many believe helped him sweep the election.
One poster in green read: “125 unit free bijli se ghata jeb ka bojh, jagmag hua Bihar, sabke chehre pe oaj (The burden on pockets reduced with 125 units of free electricity, Bihar sparkled and faces lit up).”
Another in orange read: “Har budhe, vidhwa aur divyang ko mila maan—pension badhkar 1100, har chehre pe muskan (Every elderly, widow and differently abled received dignity—pensions increased to ₹1100, bringing smiles to all).”
Mohammad Farook, who was part of the large group, said, “Muslims trusted Nitishji before and still trust him today. You can see how peaceful it has been in his government for 20 years. The RJD treated Muslims as a vote bank, they didn’t even give a Deputy CM post. Nitish has always stood with us.”
Joining the celebrations were some from the BJP, too, their party office down the same road. Carrying party flags and posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they greeted the JDU supporters with hugs and smiles.
By late afternoon, the atmosphere in the BJP office perked up as the party’s winners began arriving. Around 4.30 pm, when Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary approached the gates, a huge crowd surrounded him, many pushing forward for selfies. “This time, Bihar celebrated Diwali twice,” a party worker said.
Inside, a music system blared a song with the lyrics, “Jodiya Modiya Nitish Ji ke hit hoye” (The Modi-Nitish pair has become a hit)”, as workers danced to drumbeats. One of them, Suresh Kumar, said, “Those who work should get the votes.” Standing nearby, Mayank Kumar said, “Nitishji and Modiji built Bihar over the past 20 years. The public isn’t foolish enough to give RJD another chance to loot and ruin Bihar.”
In complete contrast, the RJD headquarters was quiet. There were no leaders. Tejashwi Yadav, who struggled to win from Raghopur, was missing.
Inside, a projector streamed live results but only a few chairs were occupied. The sombre faces reflected the tally on the screen. Near the lantern statue, representing the party symbol, a group of young supporters watched in disbelief. “Wherever Tejashwiji went, the crowds were huge, so how did he get so few seats?” one of them wondered aloud.
“Last time, they were the largest party and this time too, they raised the right issues. They had youth support. But now the result is here, it is what it is. People will now understand why a strong opposition is necessary,” said RJD supporter Sourabh Rai.
