FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Saturday, 15 November 2025 SPORTS SATURDAY INTERVIEW BBC apologises to Trump but refuses to pay compensation BUSINESS Page 12 WORLD Government notifies India’s first digital privacy law Page 11 Bumrah wrecks South Africa as India take command on Day 1 of Kolkata Test Page 10 ‘Cloud seeding is just cosmetic’ Page 7 Nitish-Modi wave sweeps Bihar, NDA gets two-thirds majority IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 14 November C ashing in on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the women- centric welfare schemes launched by his government, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Friday led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a landslide victory in Bihar. The BJP emerged as the largest party, while the JD(U) made significant gains. Both parties contested 101 seats each. The BJP has won 91, while the JD(U) has secured 83 as of the time of reporting. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Tejashwi Yadav bit the dust with just 26 seats, while its alliance partner in the 'Mahagathbandhan,' Congress, bagged just six seats. The election outcome puts a big question mark on the leadership of Tejashwi, with his party's strength going down considerably. For the RJD, there was limited relief, as its leader a n d Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, is leading in Raghopur by over 13,000 votes after initially trailing. As soon as the trends became clear, J D ( U ) workers PM: Victory in Bihar has paved way for BJP’s triumph in Bengal BJP supporters celebrate NDA's landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly election 2025 in Patna on Friday. AGENCIES 243 Total Seats 202 NDA 35 MGB 6 OTH Alliance 2025 2020 Change NDA MGB OTH 202 35 6 122 114 7 +80 -79 -1 began celebrating at the party office in Patna. Soon, posters reading “Bihar ka matlab Nitish Kumar” (Bihar means Nitish Kumar) and “Hamaare Bihar ka ek hi star, har baar Nitish Kumar” (Bihar has only one star, every time Nitish Kumar) appeared across the Bihar capital. Through this, the JD(U) attempted to send a clear message to its NDA partners, “Nitish Kumar was, is, and will remain the CM of Bihar.” Earlier, a hoarding featuring Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with the tagline “Tiger abhi zinda hai” (The tiger is still alive) was installed outside the JD(U) office in Patna. It was seen as a reflection of the political mood among JD(U) leaders and workers, projecting the party’s strength within the NDA and highlighting Nitish Kumar’s political vitality. PHOTO BY Subrata Dutta NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 14 November Virtually launching the BJP led NDA's campaign for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry early next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the NDA's massive win in Bihar Assembly elections has opened the door for the alliance to end the 'Jungle Raj' in West Bengal. "The victory in Bihar has paved the way for the BJP's triumph in Bengal. I want to assure the people of West Bengal that, with your support, the BJP will put an end to the Jungle Raj in the state as well," PM Modi said, addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters here. Launching a scathing attack at the Congress, the Prime Minister said: "In reality, it (Congress) has transformed into what can be described as MMC: the Muslim League Maoist Congress." The C ongress lacks a constructive or forward-looking vision for the nation, the Prime Minister said.