Asked whether the BJP’s stellar performance, leading in 95 of the 101 seats it contested, and comfortably ahead of the JD(U)’s 84, would upset the internal balance of the alliance, Jaiswal said, "No party is big or small in the NDA."

"Please don’t get into that," he repeated, even as the party "pulling ahead again", just as it did in the 2020 assembly polls.

On questions about women voters’ support, he remained measured in his reply.

"The people have given us a huge mandate. We must accept it with humility and bow before them. That is all that matters right now," he said.

The trends underscored a broader political realignment: the RJD’s swagger from being the single-largest party in 2020 evaporated, the Congress struggled with just a handful of leads, and the Mahagathbandhan (the opposition INDIA bloc in local parlance) appeared adrift.

Within the NDA, JD(U)’s strong performance, nearly doubling its 2020 tally, was attributed by party workers to the seamless blend of the "Modi guarantee" and Nitish Kumar’s "good governance -Sushashan imprint".

Still, the BJP’s projected dominance for a second straight assembly cycle is expected to revive quiet demands within sections of the party for a “BJP chief minister”.