NEW DELHI/PATNA: There was little or no doubt that Nitish Kumar would win the Bihar assembly elections comfortably; what he did on Wednesday was win more than just comfortably. The Janata Dal (United)-BJP combine steamrolled its way to a four-fifths majority in one of India's poorest states in what is being interpreted as the triumph of development and governance over caste politics, and a body blow to identity-based leaders Lalu Prasad and Ramvilas Paswan as well as Congress 's efforts at revival in the Hindi heartland. (Nitish, the Chanakya who wins Bihar hands down) "This is Bihar's nayi kahani... Voters had to choose between progress and antiquated politics. They have chosen to surge ahead," Nitish said, echoing the general refrain that hope had won over fear.Nitish's deft political engineering to reach out to the backward among backwards, the Dalit among Dalits, as well as Muslims and women, pitchforks the 59-year-old leader, an OBC (specifically, kurmi), onto the national arena as a potential prime ministerial candidate. It could have a sobering effect on the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, sections of which seem to be still wallowing in the afterglow of last year's Lok Sabha victory, while reviving the idea of NDA - though not necessarily under BJP 's leadership. (NDA lost only 1 of 11 seats in Muzaffarpur) The victory of a politician who first rode to prominence on the back of Mandal's caste-specific appeal, on a progressive plank, marks the maturing of the politics of social justice. It could tempt BJP to look beyond Hindutva, as it did successfully in Bihar.Remarkable about Nitish's back-to-back win is the scale - 206 seats in the 243-strong House. JD(U) alone bagged 115 seats, just a dozen short of the majority mark. It is the biggest-ever sweep in Indian politics by a coalition, barring the Left Front's victories. Its ally BJP also turned in a stunning performance, winning 91 seats of 102 seats contested, which actually translates into an even better strike rate than JD(U)'s - 90% against 82%.All other contenders have suffered a huge humiliation. Lalu Prasad managed only 22 seats, a full 32 short of the previous tally, despite his alliance with Paswan. Lalu projected himself as the rival chief ministerial candidate, converting the elections into an almost presidential contest.Lalu's wife, former chief minister Rabri Devi , lost in the family stronghold of Raghopur, and even lost Sonepur, the seat she contested as insurance.The second consecutive defeat means that Lalu will have to get used to a powerless existence at the Centre and in Bihar, where he was once the darling of the dispossessed. It also exposes a sharp erosion in his once-formidable support among Muslims and non-Yadav constituencies, and presents him with an existential crisis that can force him to explore all options afresh, including an alliance with Congress.Paswan has fared worse, securing just 3 out of the 75 seats he wrested in seat-sharing negotiations with a weakened Lalu. The dismal showing belies his claim to be a national leader and leaves him with little leverage in the future.More importantly, Bihar has dealt a knockout punch to Congress's plans for a revival and exposed the limits of Rahul Gandhi's appeal. The party had won 9 of the 51 seats it contested five years ago. This time it contested all 243 and managed to get only four partymen into the assembly. It will clearly have to go back to the drawing board for a new plan for the Hindi heartland. (Bihar elections a victory of merit over dynastic politics: BJP) While the BJP clocked a better strike rate, there is no mistaking whom the mandate is for. The contest had boiled down to a referendum on Nitish's performance in the first term, and the outcome on Thursday represents a resounding approval from the constituents.Bihar still lags the country on all indices and Nitish's attempts, while definitely stemming the slide, have made only a dent in the problem. But these mark a huge improvement over the mess left behind by 15 years of Lalu-Rabri hegemony in which Congress was also a participant. In fact, Nitish was helped by Lalu's projection of himself a CM-in-waiting. (All credit to Nitish for his success: Congress) The results don't come without complications. BJP's better-than-expected performance can be exploited by those in the party who dislike Nitish's pre-eminence in the coalition. They can create irritants, even though efforts to restrict manoeuvre space after such a verdict are unlikely to succeed.He may face a bigger problem, and that will be solely his creation. By performing well, he has set the bar higher for himself this time. The results are a pointer to heightened expectations: something that should worry him even if he has the headwind of goodwill.