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Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) international working president Alok Kumar on Saturday said the outcome of the Bihar Assembly Elections signals a significant change in electoral behaviour, arguing that the traditional notion of a consolidated Muslim vote bank influencing results no longer holds ground.
Kumar said that during the campaign, "an effort was made to intimidate minorities and create a Muslim vote bank", accusing the Mahagathbandhan of attempting to secure votes through communal consolidation. Speaking to ANI, the VHP leader said, "In this election, an effort was made to intimidate minorities and create a Muslim vote bank. They (Mahagathbandhan) were hopeful that by doing this they would secure votes." He added that recent electoral cycles, including the Maharashtra and Bihar Assembly polls and three Lok Sabha elections, demonstrate that the "veto of the Muslim vote bank" has weakened. "The Maharashtra and Bihar assembly elections, and the three Lok Sabha elections, have proven that the Muslim vote bank's veto on election results no longer works," Kumar said, calling the trend "an auspicious sign" for democratic politics. "People voted for development, good governance, and nationalism. I consider this an auspicious sign, and I am pleased with the election results," he added. Meanwhile, the NDA's 'tsunami' swept away the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates. The parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks, and Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for an impressive debut after its founder, Prashant Kishor, conducted an extensive campaign, failed to open its account. The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200 mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats. In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats. In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) - CPI(ML)(L) - two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) - one, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) - one seat. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat. (ANI)
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