The remarkable victory of the BJP alliance (31 seats), the poor performance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress alliance (7 seats) and the dismal display by the Janata Dal (United) (2 seats) seem to be the highlight of the recent Lok Sabha election from Bihar.
The results call for a deeper analysis of the electoral trends in the State: was this merely an aspirational vote, where voters stood above considerations of caste and religion and voted for the BJP and its allies? Does such a rejection of the ruling party in the State raise questions about the development work done by the government or does it imply that there can be critical political circumstances when your development record does not matter? Does it also imply that the Bihar voter is making a clear distinction between the Lok Sabha polls and an >Assembly poll ?
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Bihar also witnessed very sharp reverse polarisation as close to two-thirds of the Yadavs and Muslims favoured the RJD-Congress alliance. The JD(U) faced a near wipeout in these elections, losing support even in its core constituency — the Kurmis — the caste to which >Nitish Kumar himself belongs to.
(Sanjay Kumar is a Professor and Director, CSDS)
Also read
>A saffron sweep in Uttar Pradesh
>Jharkhand: Confirming the national trend
Here is the >methodology of the National Election Study 2014.