Bihar shows the Opposition the door

The Bihar election has exposed the opposition’s greatest enemy: itself. Fearmongering over “vote chori,” appeasement politics, and manufactured outrage were hurled like guided missiles—only to boomerang disastrously. While the BJP-led NDA prepared for 18 months, the opposition drifted between dynastic entitlement, sloppy strategy, and shameless denial. From Congress’s slide to three seats to AIMIM’s vote shifts and Gen Z’s rejection of caste arithmetic, Bihar’s verdict is emphatic: performance matters, not rhetoric. Democracy is alive, but the opposition is directionless. The Mahabharat is over; the people have spoken. The question is whether the opposition can hear them.

Fear and fakery over vote chori, the politics of appeasement, and manufactured outrage were hurled by opposition like guided missiles—only to boomerang spectacularly. The result is not just a defeat for the opposition; it is an absolute annihilation.

The BJP-led NDA’s landslide victory in the Bihar election has become a case study in democratic maturity. Once again, the people — with their unmistakable clarity — proved wrong those politicians who prefer the comfort of their ivory towers to the realities of the ground. And yet, instead of introspection, they have chosen to target the institution of elections itself, going so far as to abuse the Chief Election Commissioner by name. The voters of Bihar have once again made it clear that democracy is alive and breathing—and that the so-called “caste conundrum” exists largely in the minds of commentators, not in the minds of the people. They have rejected dynastic entitlement, empty sloganeering, and last-minute cash giveaways. What has prevailed is perception of performance, not the noise of rhetoric.

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar is now set to take oath as Chief Minister for the tenth time. Yet the opposition has no qualms in claiming that democracy has been “hijacked.” The Congress — which has slipped from 19 seats in the 2020 elections to just 5 in 2025, drifting even further from political equilibrium — insists that AIMIM is the BJP’s “B-team.” If that is so, why did the party accept AIMIM’s support in the Jubilee Hills by poll? What message are Muslims giving the Congress this time?

Perhaps they are signalling what the Telangana episode already hinted: that Revanth Reddy’s posturing does not bind them, that Congress cannot claim a monopoly over their representation, and that they are perfectly capable of making independent political choices — including choices that favour the NDA and AIMIM.

The infighting in Congress has begun and the local leaders are not blaming Chief Election Commissioner like AICC spokesperson Pawan Khera. They say the party and the PCC was never connected with Dalits and others. Tickets were not given to really deserving people.

This election sends another unmistakable message: it is time to pull the plug on dynastic politics—whether in the Congress, SP, or RJD. The results show a clear pro-incumbency sentiment and a rejection of the spectre of “jungle raj.” The opposition argument that the NDA’s Rs 10,000 assistance program “bought votes” is not only weak but insulting. It reduces voters to saleable commodities. If money alone could buy a mandate, then why did Tejaswi Yadav’s promise of Rs 30,000 and a government job per family fail? And why did he struggle to avoid a defeat in the seat which is considered to be his bastion. This narrative is not just flimsy; it is absurd. It must stop.

The real story is the collapse of the opposition’s election management. There was no voter transfer within the alliance, no coherent strategy, and certainly no humility. The self-appointed saviours of democracy remain in denial, issuing dhamkis instead of introspection. What new bomb will Rahul Gandhi drop now?

Even as early trends emerged on counting day, the bizarre and shameless theatrics of the opposition were on full display. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi thundered “Chowkidar Chor Hai.” In 2025, he mounted the “Vote Chor Gaddi chhor” campaign. Both narratives collapsed. This Bihar election marks about 95th electoral loss for Congress under Rahul’s leadership. The same Congress that demands accountability from the union Home Minister after every security lapse refuse to ask its own leader to take responsibility. If Amit Shah must resign for failures in internal security, should Rahul Gandhi not resign as Leader of the Lok Sabha after 95 defeats and allow someone competent to revive the opposition? The hypocrisy is astounding and must end.

Rahul’s political conduct reflects the problem. He launched the “Vote Adhikar Yatra,” he was seen riding motorcycle— and then vanish. He flew to Columbia. When Tejaswi was announced as CM face by MGB, Rahul was again missing. Later he swam in a pond of fishermen but nothing impressed the voters. On counting day, half the Congress camp said he was in Malaysia; the other half insisted he was in Muscat. Leadership by remote control cannot win elections. On the other hand, Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended 46 meetings.

Meanwhile, the NDA worked with precision. It made major gains in Seemanchal, where a significant share of the Muslim vote shifted toward AIMIM and even the NDA. In regions like Bhojpur and Magadh, where the BJP struggled in 2020 and 2024—thanks in part to Pawan Singh’s spoiler effect—the tables turned after Singh took charge this time. Region after region, the NDA swept the polls. They began preparing 18 months ago, while the opposition was preoccupied with Maharashtra and its fake narrative of vote chori.

The Prashant Kishore who has been working for past three years failed to open account which shows that people are still not ready to buy his narrative at least this time.

Yet, the cheerleaders of dynastic politics whom I call Congress radicals continue to accuse journalists and analysts of being “Modi media.” Reality, however, stares them in the face: the “Panch Pandav” coalition has crossed 201 seats.

Yes, any landslide victory must prompt concern, for democracy needs a strong opposition. A government without scrutiny risks complacency. We have seen such complacency lead to the downfall of YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and BRS in Telangana in 2024. The NDA would do well to remember this. What stands out most is that the voters of Bihar—especially Gen Z—rose above caste arithmetic and identity politics. And for the first time ever, Bihar saw zero recounting in an election. That alone should silence the manufactured hysteria.

The Mahabharat is over. The verdict is emphatic. The people have spoken—not through fear or favour, but through clarity. The question is: will the opposition hear them at all?

(The author is former Chief Editor of The Hans India)