BJP JD-U alliance sweeps Bihar Assembly polls, Nitish to take oath on Friday India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the second term on Friday as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal-United (JD-U)- combine has bagged three-fourth majority winning 197 of the 230 seats, results of which have been declared so far. It is also leading in 30 other constituencies. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) alliance did not fare well in the polls and secured just 18 seats. The alliance had secured 64 seats in the last polls. As per the latest reports, they are leading in ten other places. To add to the woes of the RJD-LJP alliance, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi lost in both Raghopur and Sonepur Assembly seats. The wife of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad was initially ahead of her opponents but lost to Satish Kumar of the ruling Janata Dal-United in Raghopur by a margin of 11,000 votes. She also lost in Sonepur, the second constituency she contested from. The Congress also suffered a major electoral setback as it has managed to win only four seats and was leading in three others compared to the nine seats it held in 2005. Terming the victory of his alliance as a victory for development, Nitish Kumar today pledged to work harder for the betterment of Bihar during his second innings. Addressing the media, after the JD(U)-BJP combine sweep in the Bihar assembly polls, Kumar said: "I am grateful to the people of Bihar and promise them to work more hard in the near future." "We have no magic wand, but the people's trust. I will need to work harder than I did in last five years and I will not hesitate to do it," he added. He said the state had defeated the politics of caste and religion and that the verdict in the elections was the people's stamp of approval for an agenda of development. "The poll verdict marks a new story for the state. It will have its effect outside the state also," he added. He further claimed that there has been massive improvement in the law and order situation in the state in the past five years. Pointing out that there were only stray incidents of violence during the staggered polls spread over a month, he thanked the Election Commission for its efforts in ensuring a fair and peaceful voting. Kumar said the Commission would definitely realise that there was a change on the law and order front in the state.