Patna: Bihar hardly talks; it whispers. And if one were to listen to the ‘chai pe charcha’ at Patna’s tea stalls, one line kept coming up: “RJD ka josh hai, par Congress ka hisaab? (RJD has the energy, but what about Congress’s math?).” It captures the mood perfectly.
As Bihar awaits the final verdict in a high-stakes contest on November 14, exit poll results predict a huge setbackfor Mahagathbandhan (RJD + Congress + Left + allies) and NDA scoring big despite Tejashwi Yadav’s charged-up campaign against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. These projections, which may or may not change on the results day, bring back an old question: is the grand old party pulling its weight or pulling the alliance down?
The chatter goes back to the Uttar Pradesh elections, when the Akhilesh Yadav–Rahul Gandhi duo faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Yogi Adityanath, despite the “positive undercurrent” for Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh, who was seen as the young face to lead the state, once again.
If one were to go by the exit poll results for Bihar assembly elections 2025, it appears that the similar pattern is likely to repeat, at least, exit polls say so. Despite capitalising on perceived anti-incumbency and pushing the ‘Bihari youth for Bihar’ narrative, Tejashwi Yadav seems headed for defeat. Is Bihar afraid of change — or simply unwilling to accept a Congress-backed Tejashwi Raj? Wait till November 14.
