It was a complete washout of Shiv Sena and NCP in the Bihar assembly election. Shiv Sena, which had decided to contest 50 seats but ultimately fielded candidates in only 22 seats, has got votes less than votes for None of the Above (NOTA). Further, NCP, which failed to arrive at seat adjustment with the RJD-Congress-Communist alliance, also failed miserably to show its presence due to lack of organisational base and effective poll strategy. Shiv Sena has bagged a paltry 0.05 per cent votes and 0.23% by NCP.
Shiv Sena and NCP candidates have lost their deposits.
Shiv Sena, which is heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, had decided to contest the Bihar election on the Hindutva issue but was unable to project it among the voters. Even though the party had announced a big list of star campaigners hardly anyone visited Bihar for the poll campaign. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Party MP Sanjay Raut did not only not participate in the poll campaign but were also unable to connect with party leaders through video conference.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam took a swipe at Shiv Sena. He taunted, ''Shiv Sena contested 22 seats in Bihar. It is heard that it has got less than NOTA votes in 21 seats."
After the controversy over actor Sushant Singh Rajput and attack against Mumbai Police and state government, Shiv Sena had decided to enter into the Bihar poll fray. Ironically, the SSR death case, which BJP and JD (U) initially tried to play up did not work but it was completely sidelined by all parties.
During counting, it was noticed that the Shiv Sena and NCP nominees since the beginning were never in the reckoning. Since the first round, they were lagging behind the rivals including BJP and Mahagathbandhan.
As far as NCP was concerned, party MP Praful Patel had criticised the Congress party in particular for not reaching a pre-poll understanding. Patel had announced that NCP will go solo and fight 100 seats.
Pawar lauds Tejaswi Yadav
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday that the election result in Bihar may not have brought change, but it has paved the way for change in the future. He opined that Tejaswi put up a gritty fight.
“What I saw during the campaign was that on one hand there was Narendra Modi along with the incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar. On the other side, there was an inexperienced youngster like Tejaswi Yadav,’’ said Pawar. He showered praise over Tejaswi for the manner in which he ran the poll campaign and the response that he received from various sections.
“The way Tejaswi fought elections will offer inspiration to many youngsters. Today’s results may not have brought change, it has paved the way for change in the future,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also praised Tejaswi for his spirited fight terming him a real hero in Bihar elections.
