NEW DELHI

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition on Friday retained power in the eastern state of Bihar, official data released by the Election Commission of India showed.

The vote was widely seen as a key test for Modi’s National Democratic Alliance, which includes Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), or JD (U).

In Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the JD (U) are the main ruling partners.

The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, contested the polls in alliance with the Indian National Congress.

The JD (U) is also a key partner of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs the federal administration.

Both alliances focused their campaigns on development and unemployment, two central issues in one of the poorest states in the world’s most populous nation.

According to results released by the Election Commission late Friday, the Modi-led alliance won over 200 seats in the 243-seat state legislative assembly.

In the 2020 elections in the state, the alliance had won around 120 seats.

The opposition alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress suffered a major setback, winning fewer than 40 seats.

Reacting to the landslide win, Modi said, “Good governance, development, pro-people spirit, and social justice” have won.

“Gratitude to each and every person of Bihar for blessing the NDA with a historical and unparalleled victory,” Modi said on US social media company X. “This mandate gives us renewed strength to serve the people and work for Bihar.”

More than 74 million people were eligible to vote for the 243 provincial legislative seats. The commission said voter turnout reached 67.13% across the two phases of polling, the highest since 1951.