BIHAR STANDS ON THE VERGE OF MAKING HISTORY

On November 14, the results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced. Before that, the exit polls have already given both major alliances the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan their own reasons to feel good or bad. If the exit polls

- PANKAJ MISHRA

turn out to be accurate, the NDA will register a historic victory, once again writing a new chapter in Bihar’s political story. However, if the Mahagathbandhan secures a majority, it will mark the beginning of a new era, a government led by Tejashwi Yadav, representing a new generation after the Lalu-Rabriera.

The most remarkable aspect of these elections is that Bihar has once again reaffirmed its unshakable faith in democracy. The same State that was once seen as a symbol of backwardness, poverty, and migration is now sending a powerful message through record voter turnout, that the true strength of democracy lies in the hands of the people.

The enthusiasm and awareness displayed by voters across the two phases of polling surprised everyone. The turnout was 64.66% in the first phase and 68.52% in the second. These figures are not just numbers they symbolize a changing mindset and an awakened consciousness about the future. Voters are no longer casting ballots merely to form or topple governments; they are deciding the direction of their own destiny.

From villages to cities, long queues at polling booths told the same story women, youth, and the elderly all stepping out with a single goal: to change Bihar’s fate. This is the same Bihar that was once entangled in caste equations and political sloganeering, but ithas now madeit clear that development, employment, and education must be the real issues in elections.