Bettiah (Bihar) [India], November 22 (HBTV): During the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections across 121 constituencies, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance would win 100 of the seats. The BJP emerged as the largest party, winning 89 seats. He also criticised the opposition for Bihar’s past law and order issues and what he described as a lack of development under RJD and Congress governments.
Addressing a rally in Bettiah, CM Yogi said the first phase of voting showed clear support for the NDA. He stated that ‘everyone, including youth, mothers, and farmers, is voting for the NDA’, adding that early trends indicated a strong performance for the alliance. He further remarked that if this momentum continued into the second phase of polling, scheduled for November 11, ‘Mahagathbandhan will be defeated’.
Reflecting on Bihar’s cultural heritage, he said the state ‘struggled for its identity during the Congress and RJD government’, claiming that development had stalled during their tenures. He alleged that ‘30,000 kidnapping incidents were seen during the RJD’s government’, pointing to what he described as the deterioration of law and order.
Comparing past administrations with the NDA government formed in 2005 under Nitish Kumar, CM Yogi highlighted improvements in security, connectivity and public services. He said Bihar now had better road, rail and air links, along with functional metro services, and added that residents had improved access to water, electricity and food. He also noted that the poor were covered under INR 5 lakh health insurance and that gas connections had reached households.
Targeting the opposition alliance, he said the Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD and Congress, had ‘only made fake promises’, while the NDA had fulfilled its commitments.
The first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections began at 7 am on Thursday across 121 constituencies in 18 districts, covering approximately 3.75 crore electors. Polling was scheduled to conclude at 6 pm, with some constituencies closing at 5 pm due to security concerns.
This phase includes several key candidates, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JD(U) leaders Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also contesting in this phase.
In the 2020 elections, the NDA secured 125 seats while the opposition won 110. Among major parties, the Janata Dal (United) won 43 seats, the BJP 74, the RJD 75 and the Congress 19. (ANI)