“Bihar ke logon ko rajniti samjhani nahi padti hai, woh duniya ko rajniti samjhane ki taakat rakhte hain” (One doesn’t have to teach politics to the people of Bihar, they wield the power to teach politics to the world).This was Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Surat Saturday, crediting the people of Bihar for the decisive mandate that returned the ruling NDA to power in the state a day earlier.AdvertisementAnd in Patna, leaders of the BJP and JD(U), while thanking the people for the landslide victory, were quick to point out that this mandate was the outcome of the work done by the “double engine” governments of Modi at the Centre and Nitish Kumar in Bihar.JD (U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha told reporters: “It is the success of the double engine government, combining the development vision of both Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.”The BJP, which secured 89 seats, four more than partner JD(U)’s 85, in a House of 243, pointed to the careful planning by the BJP central leadership with Modi as the fulcrum. The special focus on Bihar in the Union Budget this year – the makhana board, western Kosi canal construction and approval of road and rail projects – had set the ball rolling.AdvertisementParty leaders said the PM’s public meetings across regions in the state – from February to the start of the poll campaign – kept the focus on Bihar-centric schemes.Senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, one of the two Deputy CMs in the outgoing Nitish government, said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a total of 14 rallies and one roadshow during the election campaign. These rallies were held across Bihar districts: Samastipur, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Nawada, Bhojpur, Katihar, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Araria, Kaimur, Aurangabad, West Champaran and Sitamarhi.”Choudhary, who won from the Tarapur Assembly seat, said the Bihar victory was the “double stamp” of Modi and Nitish. The Prime Minister praised Nitish at every public meeting for “good governance” and played up the “double engine development model” versus the “jungle raj” of the RJD. In most public meetings, he highlighted the National Makhana Board and the potential of agro-based industries in Bihar.BJP state vice-president Santosh Pathak said, “For us, It worked at three levels. In the last one year, Prime Minister Modi addressed public meetings in Bihar at regular intervals, speaking of development projects for every region; Union Minister Amit Shah held region-wise organisational meetings close to the elections; and Bihar BJP in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan did micro-management of the election preparation with the Bihar team. This election was the perfect blend. Modi and Nitish are equal mega stars of the Bihar elections. And as the Prime Minister said, the Bihar elections have shown the BJP the way forward in West Bengal next year.”While the BJP, with four more seats than the JD(U), has emerged as the “elder brother”, it is aware of the importance of the JD(U) at the Centre given that the party has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha where the BJP lacks majority.most readAfter the verdict Friday, the BJP has reason to believe it can assert itself in Bihar, especially on government formation. Some key bureaucrats have already reached out to top BJP leaders to discuss government formation.BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal, Samrat Choudhary and other leaders gathered at the party office Saturday to discuss the next steps, the social combination of the next BJP ministers. Sources said the JD(U) and BJP could retain the departments they had in the outgoing government, but some new names are likely to come up from both sides.Nitish himself has not yet made a public appearance after the results. JD (U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh met the Chief Minister. As did senior party leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary.