CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ chennai l saturday l november 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION VOTE SWING BJP saw positive swing of 0.28% votes vis-a-vis 2020; for JD(U), it was 3.55%. Vote share of Chirag’s party dropped by 0.81% BJP :89 +15 JD(U) :85 +42 LJP(Rv) :19 +18 Oth :9 +5 NDA: 202 MGB: 35 RJD : 25 -50 CONG : 06 -13 Left : 03 -14 Oth : 1 VOTE SWING RJD lost 50 seats while registering a negative vote swing of -0.5%; Cong lost -0.87% votes as compared to 2022; Left’s share dipped by -0.3% The Congress party has become ‘Muslimleegi Seat difference compared to 2020 Bihar polls Seat difference compared to 2020 Bihar polls Maowadi Congress’ or TOTAL SEATS: 243 Majority: 122 MMC. It will witness NDA gets three-fourths majority; BJP single-largest party with about 90% strike rate; JD(U) close behind; a big split soon NiMo LANDSLIDE bickering INDIA bloc swept away; RJD suffers heavy drubbing; second-worst performance by Congress — Narendra Modi, prime minister The NDA has achieved a massive majority by demonstrating complete unity. I thank all NDA partners. Bihar will progress even further and will be included in the category of the most developed states in the country — Nitish Kumar, chief minister r a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna T HE ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) scored a victory for ages in the Bihar Assembly election on Friday , securing a commanding three-fourths majority While the . NDA bagged 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, the RJD‑Congress combine was not even close, garnering a meagre 35 seats. The drubbing pushed the alliance to the periphery of Bihar’s political landscape. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, while JD(U) won 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5, and RLM 4. The opposition Mahagathbandhan suffered a crushing defeat: RJD won 25 seats, Congress 6, CPI(ML) 2, and CPM 1. The BJP and JD(U) contested 101 seats each, while LJP(RV) fielded candidates in 28. Hyderabad MP Asasuddin Owaisi’s party — All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) — maintained its stronghold in Muslim dominated Bihar’s Seemanchal region, winning five of the 23 seats it contested in this region. AIMIM’s vote share has also increased from 1.3 per cent in 2020 to 1.85 per cent in 2025. For the Congress, this election is befuddling. It marked its second-worst performance in Bihar’s electoral history just short of , 2010 when it won four seats in another NDA landside year. This year’s election recorded a historic voter turnout of 66.91%— the highest since 1951. Women voters led with 71.6% participation, outpacing men (62.8%). Historically rising turnout has triggered government change , thrice in Bihar: 1967 (+7%, Congress ousted), 1980 (+6.8%), and 1990 (+5.7%, Congress again removed). But in 2025, the NDA defied that trend, delivering a blow to the Mahagathbandhan since there was no anti-incumbency against the Nitish government. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reinforced his political relevance through bold policies, including women’s reservation laws and welfare schemes for economically backward classes (EBCs). Despite concerns over age and health, Nitish passed the test of endurance and public trust. JD(U) retained strong support among Kurmi-Kushwaha communities, EBCs, women, and Dalits. Women voters were decisively consolidated via initiatives like Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Unlike 2020, when Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) dented JD(U)’s vote share, the 2025 polls saw complete NDA cohesion. A primarily development narrative saw the NDA storm traditional Mahagathbandhan strongholds in Magadh and Shahabad, while boosting gains in Muslim-majority Seemanchal and Kosi. It further solidified in Mithilanchal, Champaran, and Tirhut. The NDA was able to breach Muslim-dominated seats, fracturing the opposition. AIMIM and Jan Suraaj Party split votes, cracking RJD’s MY (Muslim-Yadav) base. Yadavs stayed loyal to RJD, but many Muslims shifted to Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). At the other end of the spectrum, the Congress hit rock bottom, winning just 6 of 61 seats—down from 19 of 70 in 2020. “The people of Bihar have taken the state by storm,” PM Narendra Modi told jubilant supporters in Delhi. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, set to take oath for a record 10th time, thanked voters and attributed the victory to people’s trust and the Centre’s support. This result is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in a poll that was not fair from the beginning. The Congress and the INDIA bloc will review this result and make efforts to save democracy even more effective — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Was it an election in Bihar as the outcome shows? No joblessness? Pain of migration fiction? Health and education doesn’t matter? Issues raised by @yadavtejashwi would remain core Bihari concern forever JD(U) members pose alongside a flex board of Nitish Kumar, in Patna on Friday | PTI PM Narendra Modi waves at supporters at BJP headquarters in New Delhi | Shekhar yadav 10th term gift to man of the moment, Nitish Modi attributes it to new M-Y — Mahila and Youth r a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna r a j e s h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi WHEN the dust settles after Bihar’s high-voltage election, a singular truth will remain etched on the political map of the state: Nitish Kumar, the war veteran, still reigns supreme. At 74, the Janata Dal (United) chief is poised to take oath as chief minister for an unprecedented tenth time, steering the National Democratic Alliance to a gargantuan victory . Few leaders in modern India embody political survival like Nitish. Once taunted for shifting alliances at whim, Kumar has defied labels and fatigue alike, remaking himself to stay in tune with the state’s political nous. His Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana was a masterstroke, transferring `10,000 each to 1.4 crore women before the polls. The strategy clicked—women voters outnumbered men by 8.8%, sealing the NDA’s fate across even the Muslimmajority Seemanchal belt. Nitish’s campaign, built on welfare and welfare again, left little room for anti-incumbency Pensions up, electricity free up to 125 . units, and the promise of one crore new jobs—all wrapped in the familiar pledges of development and dignity “People have bha. rosa (faith) in Modi and Nitish,” said BJP’s Vinod Tawade. Outside the JD(U) office, one banner makes the mood unmistakable: “Tiger abhi zinda hai” (the tiger lives on.) PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday termed the NDA win in Bihar as a vote for pro-people governance and said BJP’s victory march will follow the flow of Ganga from Bihar to Bengal. Addressing workers at BJP headquarters in New Delhi in the evening, PM Modi said the mandate reflects public endorsement of development-focused governance, leaving no room for divisive strategies. He credited Bihar’s youth for voting decisively for the NDA. In a scathing attack on the Congress— which was reduced to its worst-ever tally — Modi accused the party of self-destruction through appeasement. Interestingly he predicted an imminent split in the Congress, , warning allies that “it ruins partners”, citing the RJD’s fate. Mocking Rahul Gandhi’s campaign antics, Modi said, “Some ‘naamdars’ are drowning themselves and their allies.” Opening his address with an invocation, “Jai Chhathi Maiya,” he condemned Congress’s alleged insult to the Bihari festival Chatth. Honouring Mithilanchal’s strong mandate for BJP, he wore a Mithila-painted gamchha (towel) and was garlanded with makhana. The PM unveiled a new “M-Y” formula—Mahila and Youth, and called the verdict a democratic triumph, assuring rapid progress under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Blast at J&K police stn tied to terror tire Nowgam area. It damaged the window and glass panes of A massive explosion took place many residential houses. inside the Nowgam police staSources said a large quantity tion on the outskirts of Srinagar of the explosive material, possilate on Friday night amid height- bly ammonium nitrate, confisened security in the Valley after cated during the ongoing investhe busting of a militant module tigation into the inter-state linked to the Delhi blast. militant network was kept in the Initial reports said eight police station. personnel were injured in “The sampling of the the blast. They were reseized explosive material portedly extracting samwas going on. It has been ples from a massive cache taking place for the last of explosives recently three days. And during seized in connection the sampling process, Blast with the ‘white-collar’ the massive blast took during terror module case. place in the police staOfficials said they sampling tion at night,” they fear some casualties besaid. Officials said cause the explosion was It is not immediately the blast very powerful and a occurred while known how much quannumber of policemen personnel were tity of explosive matea n d o f f i c e r s we re rial was present in the handling the present in the station at police station at the time explosive the time of the blast. of the blast. material that S eve r a l ve h i c l e s The explosion caused had been parked at the police staa massive fire in the pobrought from tion also caught fire in Faridabad. The lice station. Locals said the explosion. there were a few smaller material was Sources said it could explosions after the part of the most probably be an acmassive blast. 360 kg of cidental blast but saboFirefighters and amexplosives tage angle is also being recovered from bulances rushed to the looked into. area to douse the fire Dr Muzammil It was in the Nowgam Ganaie’s house and take the injured to police station where the the hospitals. FIR on Jaish-e-Mohammad postMany officials were present in ers was registered; subsequent the police station when the exinvestigation led to busting an plosion took place. inter-state ‘white-collar’ miliPolice and paramilitary pertant network comprising medi- sonnel rushed to the spot and cal professionals. sealed the area. Top security ofThe deafening sound of the ficials would also be visiting the explosion, which took place area to take stock of the around 11.45 pm, shook the en- situation. F AYA Z W AN I @ Srinagar @ Chennai Red Fort bomber Dr Nabi’s Pulwama house demolished demolition. Dr Umar, who emerged as a Security forces on Friday key figure in the inter-state blew up the house of Dr Umar white-collar militant network, Nabi, the alleged suicide bomb- exploded his i20 car near Deler who drove an explosives- hi’s Red Fort on Monday laden car that exploded evening after his associnear Red Fort in Delhi on ates were detained and Monday killing 13. , security agencies Sources said Dr Nawere zeroing in on Red fort bi’s house at Quil vilhim. attack lage in Pulwama in This is the second south Kashmir was time this year that sedemolished in the wee curity forces have hours on Friday, to send a blown up houses of milistrong message against mili- tants in the Valley After the . tants and militancy . April 22 Pahalgam terror atSome adjacent houses suf- tack in which 25 tourists and a fered minor damage in the local were killed, security forccontrolled explosion. The fam- es demolished houses of at ily members were taken out of least 10 militants in the Kasht h e h o u s e b e f o r e t h e mir Valley . F AYA Z W AN I @ Srinagar big winners Tejashwi Samrat Vijay Sinha Yadav (RJD) Choudhary (BJP) Raghopur (BJP) Tarapur Lakhisarai 14,532 45,843 24,940 top losers Mohd. Tej Pratap Shatrughan Shahnawaz Yadav (JJD) Yadav (RJD) (RJD) Baisi Mahua Chapra 8,456 24,940 2,592 V i c t o r y/ d e f e a t M a r g i n INSIDE Sops to women, BJP’s winning mantra | P11 DVAC books 10 Anna univ officials, four colleges in ‘ghost faculty’ scam Siddharth Prabhakar Debris of the house demolished by security forces in Quil village in Pulwama, south Kashmir, on Friday | pti — Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD leader The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Thursday registered an FIR against 10 Anna University officials — including two former registrars — and three professors as well as four colleges on charges of cheating, collusion, and corruption in the ‘ghost faculty’ scam brought to light by Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, in July last year. In its FIR, the DVAC has stat- express read Bitten by pet dog, youth dies of rabies Coimbatore: Two weeks after bitten by pet dog, a youth died of rabies in Coimbatore on Thursday. He had taken three doses of anti-rabies vaccine, but had failed to take immunoglobulin dose | P2 Heavy rain alert for Chennai on Nov 17 Chennai: The RMC has issued a heavy rainfall warning for November 17, forecasting widespread showers across Chennai and several adjoining districts due to a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal | P7 faculty duplication in 224 of 480 colleges The DVAC in its FIR said duplication of faculty was seen in 224 of the 480 engineering colleges across Tamil Nadu in 2023-24, and 353 individuals were counted as working as fulltime faculty members in more than one engineering college ed that private engineering colleges colluded with officials of the university’s Centre for Affiliation of Institutions (CAI) to fudge data on number of qualified faculties ava i l abl e w i t h t h e m fo r affiliation. Colleges hired faculties, who were already working with oth- er institutions, and university authorities allowed them to be counted as faculty members of multiple institutions at the same time despite inspection reports exposing the hoax. This practice had a direct impact on the quality of education of students and hence was a breach of trust, fraud, and cheating, the FIR said.  P9 IAF trainer plane crashes E x p r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai A Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force’s Flying Instructors School (FIS) located at the Air Force Station in Tambaram crashed near Thiruporur in Chengalpattu district, about 40 km from Chennai, on Friday afternoon during a routine training sortie. A defence spokesperson said that the pilot on board ejected safely without major injuries. Emergency teams were rushed to the scene to secure the crash site, and the IAF has ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. Debris of the crashed trainer aircraft in Chengalpattu on Friday | Ashwin prasath A police officer told TNIE that the aircraft crashed on an open patch near a salt unit around 2pm. “The pilot escaped unhurt and was taken to a government hospital for treatment,” the officer said.  P7