The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan described the Bihar polls results as a "victory" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the “people have shown their trust in him”.
With his party winning only one seat while being instrumental in the defeat of the BJP's ally JD(U) in many seats, Paswan tweeted that he was "proud" that his party did not bend down for power. His party had won two seats in the 2015 polls.
"All LJP candidates fought gloriously on their own without any alliance. The party's vote share has increased. It had gone to the polls with the resolve of 'Bihar first Bihari first'. It has been strengthened in every district. This is bound to benefit the party in the future," he said, while thanking people.
सभी लोजपा प्रत्याशी बिना किसी गठबंधन के अकेले अपने दम पर शानदार चुनाव लड़े।पार्टी का वोट शेयर बढ़ा है।लोजपा इस चुनाव में बिहार1st बिहारी1st के संकल्प के साथ गई थी।पार्टी हर ज़िले में मज़बूत हुई है।इसका लाभ पार्टी को भविष्य में मिलना तय है।
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) November 10, 2020
The LJP received 5.68% of votes while contesting on nearly 140 seats in the elections to the 243-seat Bihar assembly.
The ruling coalition won 125 seats in the 243-member state assembly against 110 clinched by the opposition Grand Alliance to pave the way for a fourth successive term for Kumar in office but with diminished clout following a debilitating slide in the number of JD(U) lawmakers that came down to 43 from 71 in 2015.
Its defeat notwithstanding, the RJD, whose campaign Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son and heir to party supremo Lalu Prasad helmed, emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats.
Apart from BJP's 74 seats and JD(U)'s 43, the ruling alliance partners HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won four seats each.
The drastic fall in the number of JD(U) MLAs, however, will likely make the BJP, which hitherto played a second fiddle to Kumar, more assertive, and it may insist on a larger share in the ministerial pie and greater say in governance.