NEW DELHI: RJD leader Madan Shah — who last month was seen tearing off his clothes and breaking down after being denied a ticket for the Bihar assembly elections — on Sunday acknowledged that he felt “pained” by the party’s electoral debacle.“I am hurt that the party lost, but whatever God does is for the best. Lalu ji was not consulted on ticket distribution this time,” he told news agency ANI, referring to RJD supremo and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Shah remarked that he had put a “curse” that the party would not win more than 25 seats. The RJD and its allies were routed, winning only 35 seats, with the party winning exactly 25 seats.Recalling the earlier incident, he said he had been overwhelmed by grief at the time, which drove him to tear off his clothes in frustration. “The pain drove me to madness. I went to meet Lalu ji in Patna, but no one agreed to see me,” he stated.Addressing his earlier allegation that he had been asked for Rs 2.7 crore in exchange for a ticket, Shah clarified that the demand was not made to him “directly.” “It was conveyed through the media. So whom could I have given the money to? I couldn’t just throw it on the road. ‘Big leaders’ had said through the media that I should be asked for money in return for a ticket,” the RJD leader added. The Bihar assembly elections were conducted on November 6 and 11, while the counting of votes was held on Friday. The ruling NDA achieved a sweeping victory, securing 202 of the state’s 243 assembly seats.