Bihar results: RJD stares at one of its biggest electoral setbacks since its inception

New Delhi: According to the latest trends by the Election Commission, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) appears headed for one of its poorest electoral performances since the party was founded in the late 1990s.

As of the latest updates, the party has won eight seats and is leading on 17, taking its likely tally to around 25 seats in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly.

The RJD had contested 143 seats, positioning itself as one of the major players in this election.

However, if the current trends hold, the party’s final seat count may fall sharply short of expectations and well below its performances in previous electoral cycles.

Historically, the RJD has remained a formidable political force in Bihar, with several strong showings since its inception.

After its formal formation in 1997, the RJD continued to register significant influence, winning 124 seats in 2000, followed by 75 seats in 2005 (February) and 54 seats in the October 2005 elections.

In 2010, when the party faced a strong NDA wave, it managed to secure only 22 seats, later recovering with 80 seats in 2015.

In the 2020 assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, demonstrating a strong resurgence. Against this backdrop, the current trend showing the party poised for barely two dozen seats marks a dramatic reversal.

For a party that has shaped Bihar’s political discourse for over two decades, the present numbers signal a significant erosion of its traditional support base.

If the trends translate into final results, the RJD may be heading toward one of the most serious electoral setbacks in its history, raising pressing questions about leadership strategy, voter outreach, and the party’s future trajectory in Bihar’s shifting political landscape.

Notably, the vote percentage of RJD stands at 22.88 per cent, making it the biggest party in terms of the vote percentage.

IANS