As the Bihar Assembly results swept in on Friday, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds.

At one end, the BJP and JD (U) offices throbbed like festival outposts, alive with drums, firecrackers and the smell of fresh laddoos. At the other, the RJD headquarters sat in a tightening hush, its corridors marked by long faces, hesitant murmurs and a disbelief that deepened with every fresh tick of the EC's screen.

As the NDA headed for a resounding victory, the BJP headquarters had already burst into a full-blown carnival.

A tide of workers pushed past the iron gates, many cycling in from the old city, and some tumbling out of auto-rickshaws stuffed with party flags that fluttered like festival buntings.

The party office's courtyard

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