"Let's wait for Election Commission to disclose results": Shashi Tharoor on Bihar polls

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 14 (ANI): With vote counting underway for the Bihar Assembly Election 2025 and leads placing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in a commanding position, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that the final assessment should be done after the Election Commission of India announces the results officially.
Responding to the initial numbers, Tharoor said that the figures were "a question of leading at the moment," adding that while the NDA was ahead by "a rather large margin," it was essential to wait for the poll body's formal declaration.
Speaking to reporters, Shashi Tharoor said, "It's a question of leading at the moment. They are leading by a rather large margin. But let's wait for the Election Commission to discuss and disclose the results. I am sure that the party has a responsibility to study in detail the causes. But remember, we were not the senior partner in the alliance and that RJD also has to look carefully at its own performance. But I will say that on a matter like this, it's very important that we look at the totality of our performance. Elections are about a number of factors."
Highlighting the issue of last-minute schemes, Tharoor said, "The women voters were certainly given some incentives just before the Code of Conduct. Whether we like it or not, unfortunately, that is legal under our laws. I am afraid this is not the first time that we have seen state governments doing such things, of giving benefits to certain segments of society. I don't think it's a healthy practice but we saw something quite similar in Maharashtra as well as other seats in the past."
Meanwhile, the ruling NDA has crossed the mark of 200 seats in the projects, as per the Election Commission of India, as of 1.35 pm.
The Nitish Kumar-led NDA appears to have bagged a combined total of 203 seats, with BJP leading in 91, JDU in 82, LJP 21, HAM 5 and RLM 4 as per data from the EC at 1.35 pm.
RJD leads on 25 seats, Congress leads in 4, CPI(ML) lead 4, while CPI-M lead in 1 seat, taking the total to 34, as per data from the EC at 1.35 pm. Additionally, the BSP leads in one seat, and the AIMIM in five seats.
The projections suggest that the renewed JD(U)-BJP partnership, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationwide popularity, is steering the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) toward a sweeping mandate of over the 243-seat Assembly. (ANI)