New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday questioned businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after he alleged that the Bihar Assembly election results were “unfair,” “manipulated,” and “unacceptable.” In a sarcastic comment Manjhi asked, “Is Robert Vadra a politician?”

Speaking to reporters, Jitan Ram Manjhi said, “Is Robert Vadra a politician? He is a businessman. Several charges are pending against him. He should face those charges first before making political statements. What right does he have to speak on such matters?”

In Indore, Robert Vadra had described the Bihar results as “unfair and unacceptable,” claiming that the outcome was influenced by the Election Commission.

“People of Bihar are not happy with the results. Whatever happened took place with the help of the Election Commission. Elections should be held again in Bihar. Rahul ji will meet the youth and fight for democracy,” Vadra had said.

Vadra was not the only Congress voice raising objections. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh compared the Bihar mandate in which the NDA registered a sweeping victory, to elections in North Korea, Russia, and China, arguing that results overwhelmingly favouring one alliance raised doubts.

“The results of Bihar are akin to the elections of North Korea, Russia, and China, as the votes have gone largely to a single party,” Singh said.

He further alleged that 62 lakh voters’ names were deleted and 20 lakh new names added, claiming the Election Commission never revealed whose names were removed or included. Singh had made similar allegations two days earlier, asserting that if the NDA crossed 140 seats, it could only be due to “manipulated EVMs and manipulated voter lists.”

Singh had added that during the campaigning phase, he sensed a “neck-to-neck contest,” with discussions centred on whether AIMIM or Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party would cut into whose votes.

“But the final result does not reflect the reality on the ground,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has once again crossed the 200-seat mark in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. This is the second time the ruling alliance has achieved this milestone, the first being in the 2010 Assembly elections when it secured 206 seats.

In this election, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Bihar. In the previous Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), with 74 seats, was the largest party, but this time the Opposition failed to perform as expected.

In the 2020 elections, the BJP had won 74 seats with a 19.46 per cent vote share, while JD(U) had secured 43 seats with a 15.39 per cent vote share.

NDA allies have also performed strongly. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which contested alone in the previous election and won only one seat, made significant gains this time. Other NDA partners, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awami Morcha also performed well.

On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan suffered major setbacks. The Congress, which had won 19 seats in the previous election, failed even to cross the double-digit mark. Newly formed parties like the Jan Suraaj Party and the Jan Shakti Janata Dal were unable to open their accounts.

–IANS

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