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New Delhi: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday issued its first formal reaction to its heavy defeat in the Bihar assembly elections, posting a restrained message on X that framed the setback as part of an "endless journey".
"Public service is a continuous process, an endless journey. Ups and downs are inevitable in it. There should be no sorrow in defeat and no arrogance in victory. The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a party of the poor and will continue to raise their voice," the party wrote.
This came against the backdrop of a fall in the party's numbers: the RJD won just 25 seats this time, compared to 75 in the 2020 assembly polls. Its ally, the Congress, also registered a poor showing, winning only six of the 61 seats it contested -- down from 19 previously.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the polls with a strong showing by its two principal partners. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, improving on its 2020 tally of 74, while Nitish Kumar's JD(U) surged to 85 seats from 43. Together, the two parties logged an almost 85 per cent strike rate across the 202 seats they contested.
Despite the losses, the RJD's vote share rose to 22.76 per cent, marginally ahead of the BJP's 20.90 per cent and the JD(U)'s 18.92 per cent in the final count.
Reacting to the results, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called for an internal review and alleged that the election was "not fair from the very beginning".
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to the millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in such an election that was not fair from the very beginning," Gandhi said in a post on X.
Senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, met earlier in the day to assess the party's second-worst performance in Bihar since 2010.
