Tej Pratap’s JJD Faces Total Wipeout in Bihar

GG News Bureau
Patna, 14th Nov: Tej Pratap Yadav’s newly formed Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) has failed to register any impact in the 243-seat Bihar Assembly election, with early trends showing the party nowhere close to winning even a single seat. The Election Commission’s latest data indicates that the party is unlikely to open its account, delivering a major blow to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son, who had claimed his outfit would win 10–15 seats.

Tej Pratap floated the JJD earlier this year after being expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for what the party described as “irresponsible conduct”. The former minister rejected the allegations and instead blamed “Jai Chands in the family” for his ouster. His new party contested 22 seats, including Narkatiyanganj, Madhepura, Belsand, Barauli, Mahua and Patna Sahib.

However, JJD candidates are trailing in nearly all constituencies. Even in Mahua, a seat Tej Pratap won in 2015, he is trailing behind LJP (Ram Vilas) candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh. The trends fully align with exit poll predictions that indicated a poor performance for the JJD.

The setback is stark for Tej Pratap, who had maintained that his party would spring surprises. “Let’s see what happens… I am not omniscient,” he had said ahead of counting. As results unfold, it is clear that voters have rejected his political gamble.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is heading towards a landslide victory, with trends showing the alliance crossing 200 seats. The BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM (Secular) and RLM together appear set to form the next government. Exit polls, including the India TV-Maitrize survey, had also projected an NDA win.

This year’s elections, held in two phases on November 6 and 11, recorded a historic 66.91% voter turnout, the highest ever in Bihar since 1951.