Bihar outcome would mark sharp reversal for Modi, who lost his parliamentary majority in last year\u2019s national elections
\n New Delhi
\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s ruling coalition is set to comfortably retain power in the poor and populous state of Bihar, a vote count showed on Friday, giving him a boost after a disappointing national vote last year.
\nWinning Bihar is crucial because it is India\u2019s third-most-populous state with nearly 130 million people and it sends the fifth-highest number of lawmakers to Parliament. Control of the eastern state strengthens any party\u2019s power in the Hindi heartland and often helps to shape national political narratives.
\nModi\u2019s National Democratic Alliance coalition could easily cross the majority mark of 122 seats, with data from the Election Commission of India showing it was leading in more than 170 seats. TV channel NDTV said it was ahead in 191 seats, a potential gain of 69 seats from the last election.
\n\u201cBihar\u2019s mandate is clear!\u201d Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party said on X. \u201cThe people have made it clear \u2014 now development is the identity. Not jungle raj, good governance is needed!\u201d
\nThe Bihar outcome would mark a sharp reversal for Modi, who lost his parliamentary majority in last year\u2019s national elections and had to lean on allies to remain in power. Since then, his party has steadily regained ground, winning several key state contests.
\nPolitical analysts have said one of the key factors in the Bihar election was Modi\u2019s September transfer of \u20b975 billion ($853 million) to millions of women in the state under an employment programme.
\nWomen voters across India have turned out in greater numbers over the past decade and political parties have competed to attract them. Previously, men easily outnumbered women at India\u2019s polling stations.
\nPolitical analyst Amitabh Tiwari, who travelled across Bihar during the election \u2014 which was held in two phases on November 6 and 11 \u2014 said it was \u201cjust the women\u201d who were set to give Modi a better result than what he received the last time.
\nAccording to a survey this week by Tiwari\u2019s VoteVibe agency, Modi\u2019s alliance secured 48.5% of the female vote, more than 10 percentage points higher than the main opposition bloc.
\nStates including Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are due to go to the polls next year. Of those states, the BJP is in power only in Assam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bihar outcome would mark sharp reversal for Modi, who lost his parliamentary majority in last year\u2019s national elections New Delhi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s ruling coalition is set to comfortably retain power in the poor and populous state of Bihar, a vote count showed on Friday, giving him a boost after a disappointing national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-514597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n