After Nitish Kumar’s 'historic victory', congratulatory messages pour in
In a reversal of early trends, the JD(U)-led grand alliance shot ahead of NDA
In a reversal of early trends, the JD(U)-led grand alliance shot ahead of NDA
New Delhi/Srinagar
: Having backed Nitish Kumar in the high-stakes poll contest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the JD(U) leader for his \"historic victory\" as trends showed the grand alliance surging ahead of the BJP-led NDA in Bihar.
\"Many congratulations Nitishji on this historic victory,\" Kejriwal said in a post in Hindi on Twitter.
In a reversal of early trends, the JD(U)-led grand alliance shot ahead of NDA, taking a lead in more than 140 seats, which is well above the half-way mark in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
Kejriwal had earlier said it was important that BJP lost the Assembly elections in Bihar so that it realises that \"hate politics\" will not work in the country.
\"It is important that BJP lose Bihar so that they know that hate politics will not work in this country. People want love and peace, not hate,\" he had said on Twitter.
Also, reiterating his support for his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, Kejriwal had urged people in the state to vote for him.
\"I appeal to all to call up their relatives and friends in Bihar and ask them to vote for Nitish Kumar,\" he had said on the micro-blogging site.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also congratulated Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the victory, saying the election was turned into a referendum on the Narendra Modi government by BJP itself.
\"Heartiest congratulations on a well deserved victory @NitishKumar sahib. Your victory will prove critical for the nation in the days ahead,\" Omar wrote on social networking site twitter.com.
Heartiest congratulations on a well deserved victory @NitishKumar sahib. Your victory will prove critical for the nation in the days ahead.
\"It was the BJP, not Nitish, that made this election a referendum on the Modi Govt. They have to live with the results, win or lose,\" the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said.
Omar sarcastically said if BJP would have won, the victory would have belonged to the leader but the blame for the loss would be borne by the party.
\"Always remember victory belongs to the leader, defeat to the party. Simple rule of thumb & all parties, bar none, fall back on this,\" he said.
On trends that initially showed the BJP-led combine ahead of the grand alliance, Omar said, \"The BJP needs to get a refund from some news channels for crackers wasted this morning.\"
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also sent congratulatory message to Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and called it victory of tolerance, defeat of intolerance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Nitish Kumar, congratulates him on poll victory. Meanwhile, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha called JD(U)-RJD win victory of democracy and people of Bihar. \"I salute them,\" he said.