New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday termed the Bihar Assembly results as "truly surprising" and said "we could not achieve victory in an election that was not fair from the very beginning".

Gandhi also said the Congress and the INDIA bloc will conduct an in-depth review of the poll results and make more effective efforts to save democracy.

"I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was not fair from the very beginning," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

"This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress party and the INDIA bloc will conduct an in-depth review of this result and make more effective efforts to save democracy," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

The NDA swept the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with about a 90 per cent strike rate.

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Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.

In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.

Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.

While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).

Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).