By Karuna Kumari
New Delhi/Patna: Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered an emphatic and celebratory address on Friday after the NDA secured a decisive victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, winning more than 200 of the state’s 243 seats. Speaking at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Modi opened with “Jai Chhati Maiya” before declaring that the people of Bihar had “bilkul garda uda diya”—a colloquial phrase used to describe a sweeping, dust-raising triumph. He went further, adding that “kheer made of makhana will be cooked in every house in Bihar today,” invoking a cultural symbol closely tied to the region.
Modi cast the verdict as a reaffirmation of the NDA’s governance model, declaring: “Phir ek baar NDA sarkar.” He revisited his campaign narrative around “Jungle Raj” and the gun culture symbolised by the katta—a theme he said the RJD rarely countered but which, he asserted, visibly unsettled the Congress. “That kind of government will never return to Bihar,” he told party workers.
The prime minister said he “bowed down” before the people of Bihar for giving the NDA its strongest mandate since 2010. He also recalled launching his campaign in the village of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur in Samastipur, framing the moment as a symbolic bridge between Bihar’s political past and what he described as its future under NDA rule.
A new “M-Y formula”
Striking a contrast with the opposition’s caste arithmetic, Modi introduced what he described as a new M-Y formula: not Muslims and Yadavs, but Mahila (women) and Youth. “Some parties tried to divide Bihar using the old M-Y formula,” he said. “Today, Bihar has given a new definition—women and young voters. I want to thank both.”
Analysts have pointed to high turnout among women and first-time voters as a major contributor to the NDA’s surge, a point Modi leveraged to frame the result as a shifting political coalition transcending traditional caste alignments.
Allies, administration and turnout
Modi extended gratitude to the NDA’s allies—chief minister Nitish Kumar, the BJP’s Bihar leadership, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, HAM(S) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha. “This is not only the victory of the NDA but the victory of India’s democracy,” he said.
The prime minister also praised the Election Commission for conducting a peaceful and efficient election marked by a record turnout. “Earlier, voting in Naxal-affected areas happened only till 3pm,” he noted. “Today, we are seeing unprecedented participation. There wasn’t even a single repoll.”
The NDA’s commanding performance cements its dominance in Bihar’s political landscape and strengthens the BJP’s position within the alliance. For Modi, the celebration was both an electoral victory lap and a strategic reset ahead of national battles to come.
