Why NDA’s big win in Bihar makes PM Modi’s democratic standing stronger too

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) landslide victory in Bihar assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s democratic standing among his peers in the world is set to get a boost.

As per the latest information, the NDA is ahead on 211 of 243 seats in Bihar and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc has been reduced to just 27 seats.

If it is about the leader’s power, the victory has come at a time when the Modi government has been engaged in important trade negotiations crucial security-related decisions are being taken. And such a victory puts him on an even stronger political wicket — and that sends a message to the world.

The Bihar assembly elections were the first after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor. The overwhelming vote for Modi’s BJP and NDA has also been a vote of approval for Modi’s response to the Pahalgam attack and foreign policy.

In an uncertain world, PM Modi gets a boost

Modi’s big mandate has come at a time when most of the world is experiencing political uncertainty.

In the United States, Trump’s popularity has continued to plunge and the country has just started to emerge out of the longest shutdown in history. In Europe, some of the largest countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, are facing economic troubles and consistent political storms.

The standing of these countries’ leaders —whether Trump or Sir Keir Starmer or Emmanuel Macron— has also taken a beating.

In such a global scenario, Modi has just landed a big victory that has conveyed to the world that he continues to have a strong domestic mandate. This strengthens his hand in negotiations at the world stage as well.

As nearly two-thirds of Bihar’s population is rooted in agriculture, the mandate has conveyed to the world that Modi continues to have farmers’ mandate as well. As agriculture-related issues have often taken a central stage in trade negotiations, the mandates reiterates that the government’s position is not arbitrary but backed by popular will.