Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday attributed the National Democratic Alliance’s defeat in the Bihar assembly elections to a “huge index of opposition unity” and said that it would not impact economic reforms, Press Trust of India reported. “I don’t see it [the results] as a setback to the economy... structural reforms will continue. They should continue at a rapid pace,” he said. He added that the Centre would certainly help Bihar and would also continue economic reforms through executive decisions and in next year’s Budget.

Jaitley also admitted that some irresponsible statements by Bharatiya Janata Party members during the course of elections did impact the results, but that it was not a referendum on the Centre because elections are not based on one issue. He also said that the BJP's vote share, meaning the percentage of total votes, had not come down since the last elections, and that the Mahaghatbandhan had won only because opposing forces had come together.