Patna:
Bihar stands out as the only state where the NDA swept or gained spectacularly this time. And the architect of this success story is Nitish Kumar.
"The RJD's lantern has cracked, the oil has spilled out and it has set the LJP's house on fire," he said.
Success has made a sombre man like Nitish crack jokes. And a wipe out meant these two men were left holding each other's hand.
The Nitish wave in Bihar brought RJD down to just four, the LJP to zero and carried 32 NDA candidates to victory. These included 88-year-old Ram Sunder Das, the oldest candidate he defeated seven times winner from Hajipur Ram Vilas Paswan.
Lalu lost from Pataliputra, barely saving face from his second constituency Saran. And anxious to mend bridges with the Congress, he was quick to take the blame.
"It was a mistake to not ally with the Congress," Lalu said.
If the 2005 assembly polls were the end of the Lalu era in Bihar, the Lok Sabha results have further hit the nail in the coffin. The cameras have stopped rolling and the ageing superstar of Bihar's political theatre will be grateful to be offered a bit role on the national stage.
But the man who has arrived nationally is Nitish Kumar.
A UPA sweep means he is no longer being wooed in Delhi. But his spectacular win has brought into focus the remarkable story of how Bihar is changing.
An NDTV story reported last year how Nitish was transforming the state both tangibly as schools and hospitals began to function roads were built, and intangibly by reviving old symbols of Bihari pride like the ancient Nalanda University.
Another key change is a perceptible dip in fear and criminality, which was confirmed further as criminal candidates and their wives lost across parties.
Politically, Nitish's social engineering that created new votebanks among most backwards castes and Mahadalits helped.
"All the parties have supported my demand for the status of special state for Bihar, now they should implement it," Nitish said.
But Lalu was not ready to believe this.
"It is wrong to interpret this as a victory for Nitish's development work. I developed the Railways. Did that bring me any votes?" he said.
Nitish has won since he offers development, Lalu has lost since he still doesn't believe in its power.