Nitish Posters Dominate Patna As NDA Surges Ahead
Patna: As the NDA registered a landslide victory in Bihar on Friday, Patna’s skyline saw a distinctive visual grammar; bold, cool and unmistakably focused on one man: Nitish Kumar.
As the NDA’s advantage consolidated throughout the morning, freshly printed posters started appearing all over the city, leaving no uncertainty as to who remains Bihar’s central axis of power, as per JD(U)’s narrative.
A giant Nitish Kumar poster in front of the Prime Minister’s residence, next to a crouching tiger and bearing the slogan ‘tiger abhi zinda hai’ (the tiger is still alive), was the first highlight of the morning. The images were not very subtle. It was a defiant, triumphant stance, unmistakably intended to set the tone before the numbers settled.
As the day went on, more posters sprouted up on major arteries, junctions, party offices and neighborhood corners, as if Patna had starred in a JD(U) production.
One declared: ‘Humaare Bihar mein ek star, har baar Nitish Kumar’ (there is only one star in our Bihar; it is always Nitish Kumar). The design was more striking; There was a tall image of Nitish and a smaller photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the background.
Another went further and simply said ‘Bihar ka matlab Nitish Kumar’ (Bihar means Nitish Kumar), a sweeping claim aimed at blurring the line between the identity of the individual and the state.
Political observers said the visual grammar makes JD(U)’s message clear: In Bihar’s political theatre, Nitish Kumar is not just the protagonist but also the plot.
Pointing to the posters, a JD(U) worker told a TV channel, “‘Hamaare Bihar mein ek star’ is not just praise. It is a reminder that whatever the arithmetic at the centre, the mantle of leadership of Bihar is Nitish ji.”
The timing was even more significant.
Even though the BJP has more seats than the JD(U), the posters doubled as a calibrated counter to weeks of speculation fueled by the Mahagathbandhan and political commentators that the BJP might project a new CM face after the elections. Both parties have publicly denied these rumors, but the images released Friday morning appeared designed to silence those rumors once and for all.
For the JD(U) cadre, the posters served as reassurance and assertion in equal measure: assurance that Nitish was firmly in command, and the assertion that the hierarchy within the NDA had its own logic and that Nitish Kumar remained his most senior partner in Bihar.
The images emerged almost simultaneously with the trends listed.
“Tasveerein baatein karte hain, picture abhi baki hain (photos tell a story, the movie is not over yet),” said a JD(U) worker dancing in front of the party building.
In the afternoon, the posters took on a sharper meaning as the NDA emerged ahead with 197 seats and the Mahagathbandhan lagged behind with 40 seats.
Within the NDA, the BJP was leading with 90 seats, ahead of the JD(U)’s 79 seats. LJP (Ram Vilas) added 20 candidates, while HAM(S) and RLM added four candidates each.
On the other hand, Mahagathbandhan’s figures were pegged at RJD’s 30, followed by Congress (five), CPI(ML) Liberation (four) and CPI(M) (one).
AIMIM was ahead on five seats while BSP was ahead on one seat.
At many points, groups of JD(U) workers were posing next to posters as if unfurling an early victory banner.
“Sirf trends aaye hain, message is clear hai. Nitish jipolitik ka asli tiger hain (only trends have emerged, but the message is clear: Nitish Kumar is the real tiger of politics),” a worker said, grinning at the TV camera.
When asked about the ‘tiger zinda hai’ posters appearing outside Nitish’s house, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal dismissed the incident with a smile: “He is bigger than a tiger. Much bigger.”
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar attributed the NDA’s strong early advances to the welfare schemes prioritized under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
“Nitish Kumar ji will remain chief minister as long as he wishes. His will, people’s desire and NDA’s determination are in harmony,” he said.
