Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his political allies on Friday after a coalition led by the ruling party secured a majority in a local election in Bahar, one of the country's most populous states.

The Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has already won over 200 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly with the vote count still underway. The prime minister's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which contested 101 seats in alliance with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), has emerged as the single largest party, despite never having been in power alone in Bihar. The NDA's combined tally exceeding 200 seats guarantees Kumar a fifth term as chief minister. Bihar sends 40 lawmakers to India's lower house of Parliament, making it crucial for any ruling coalition in New Delhi.

"People of Bihar [have] voted for development. They have broken all records," Modi said, addressing his party workers at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. He also posted on X congratulating the NDA coalition and suggesting that it was a victory of "good governance," "development" and "social justice."

The opposition was led by the Indian National Congress and regional socialist groups under the banner of the 'Mahagathbandhan', or Grand Alliance. According to projections, the opposition alliance will only cross the 35-seat mark. The polling was held in two phases on November 6 and November 11.

The opposition had charged during the campaign that a controversial revision of voter rolls by the Election Commission (EC) excluded genuine voters, giving an undue advantage to the ruling coalition. The charge was denied by the EC and the ruling NDA.

Bihar is India's poorest and most densely populated state with a population of 130 million, out of which over 70 million voted in the election. Nearly half of the voters in the state are women. The election also recorded the highest female voter turnout in the state's history at 71.6%. Commenters in India suggested that a campaign by the chief minister to disburse a sum of 10,000 rupees ($112) each to 2.5 million women ahead of polling - a move challenged by the opposition - was instrumental in securing votes in favor of the NDA coalition.