In Bihar, assembly poll results leave BJP jubilant, Congress pensive

BJP workers raised chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' and waved saffron flags as senior leaders started reaching the party office in Patna to celebrate the victory. The atmosphere at the Congress headquarters situated a few kilometers away was subdued though the party is set to pull off a significant victory in Telangana.

Patna: The opposition BJP in Bihar erupted in celebrations on Sunday as trends showed that the party was heading for huge wins in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Party workers raised chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' and waved saffron flags as senior leaders started reaching the BJP office here to celebrate the victory.

Leader of the opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha told reporters, 'The assembly elections have shown that Modi magic is as potent as ever. Those indulging in politics of appeasement and casteism have got a resounding slap.' Senior leader Nitin Nabin, who is the party's co-in-charge for Chhattisgarh, said he had been confident of the BJP's return to power in that state, which has been under Congress rule for the last five years.

'I spent close to three months in Chhattisgarh. The common refrain of the man on the street was 'ab na sahibo badal kar rahibo' (will not tolerate anymore, will vote for a change),' he said.

The atmosphere at Congress headquarters, situated a few kilometers away, was subdued though the party is set to pull off a significant victory in Telangana.

State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, 'We need to analyse the results. It was clear that anti-incumbency was strong in Madhya Pradesh where the BJP has been in power for a long, and people were satisfied with our governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.' Replying to a query from journalists, he said, 'It would be wrong to say that the Congress has not been accommodative enough towards regional parties. We are a junior partner in the government in Bihar, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of JD(U), with Lalu Prasad's RJD as the largest ally and the Left parties extending their support.'