ABSTRACT
The chapter on Bihar draws attention to the fact that NDA registered its best-ever performance in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, 2019. Not only did it win all but one seat, but won mostly with huge margins. The chapter argues that among a host of factors that could be attributed to the sterling performance of the long-term chief minister Nitish Kumar led NDA in the state, two stood out: the ‘coming together’ once again of the BJP and the Janata Dal-United and the high level of trust among the electorates in the leadership of Narendra Modi. The alliance also benefited from the leadership of Nitish Kumar who is credited to bring a turnaround in the dismal state of affairs in the state under the RJD rule. In the light of the dismal performance of the RJD, the authors raise apprehension about the opposition alliance performance in the future under the leadership of Tejaswi Yadav in the absence of Lalu Yadav. As the 2020 assembly election showed, not only the RJD but also the Left parties did remarkably well, narrowly losing to the BJP-JDU alliance. The verdict put Tejaswi firmly in the role of the main opposition leader in the state leaving behind Chirag Paswan of LJP.
