India, Nov. 14 -- Have the election results in Bihar shocked you? Don't be surprised, Bihar can startle anyone. The cradle of democracy has once again shown that people hold the real power in electoral battles. It's impossible to gauge the mood of voters, no matter how great a political pundit you are.

While the counting was underway and trends were becoming clear, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a senior BJP leader on Thursday afternoon. I asked him how many seats he was expecting in Bihar. He said the NDA will easily form the government and expected 140 seats, give or take five. A few days earlier, the Janata Dal (United) strategists were echoing the same numbers in Patna. But the voters gave them a bumper victory. Why?

Th...