Bihar verdict: Anomaly, or end of the road for the Opposition?

Another assembly election is done and dusted. And the Opposition has lost yet again – this time it was decimated. The NDA won 202 out of the 243 seats in Bihar, with a vote share of 46.5%. The Mahagathbandhan could secure only 35 seats, with a vote share of 37.6%. Before the results were out, no one had predicted that the NDA would cross 200 seats. But post-facto, we are hearing sophisticated hypotheses about the so-called ‘index of unity’, caste arithmetic, etc that apparently benefited the NDA. And once again, the Election Commission’s role is in the spotlight, especially with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. What does this verdict mean for Bihar, and for the Opposition parties, which, in 2026, face a series of assembly elections preceded by SIR, just like in Bihar? Guest: Professor Kumar Sanjay, who teaches history at Swami Shraddhanand College. Delhi. Host: G. Sampath Shot by Tayyab Hussain Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices