NDA crushes opponents in Bihar (Roundup)

Thanks to the wave in favour of Narendra Modi, the BJP-led NDA Friday crushed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U and the RJD-Congress combine by winning 31 of the state's 40 seats.

The result surprised leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

"It is really the biggest-ever victory for the BJP in Bihar, all thanks to the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi," said senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav.

The Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal combine in the state won seven seats and the ruling Janata Dal-United won only two.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi was defeated by BJP candidate and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran by 44,000 votes, while their daughter Misa Bharti was defeated in Pataliputra by BJP's Ram Kirpal Yadav by 42,000 votes.

RJD candidate Pappu Yadav defeated JD-U president Sharad Yadav in Madhepura.

Congress leader Mohammad Asrarul Haque won from Muslim-majority Kishanganj. Pappu Yadav's wife Ranjeet Ranjan of the Congress won from Supaul.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan won from his traditional Hajipur seat, while his actor-turned-politician son Chirag Paswan won from Jamui.

Lok Sabha speaker and Congress candidate Meira Kumar was defeated in Sasaram, while former Kerala governor and Congress candidate Nikhil Kumar also lost in Aurangabad.

They were defeated by BJP candidates Chedi Paswan and Sushil Kumar Singh respectively.

Actor-turned-politician and BJP sitting MP from Patna Sahib Shatrughan Sinha won by over one lakh votes over Congress candidate Kunal Singh.

Former union minister and BJP candidate Shahnawaz Hussain was defeated in Bhagalpur.

JD-U's Kaushlendra Kumar managed to retain Nalanda, the home turf of Nitish Kumar, while party candidate Santosh Kushwaha won from Purnea by defeated BJP sitting MP Uday Singh.

Most of the JD-U's sitting MP lost the polls.

RJD veterans Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Jagdanand Singh and Ali Ashraf Fatmi were defeated in Vaishali, Buxar and Darbhanga respectively.

In 2009, the NDA won 32 seats - the BJP won 12 and then ally JD-U 20. Both parties contested by themselves this time.