Patna | November 14, 2025 (IST)
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The counting of votes for the two-phase Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 concluded today, resulting in a crushing mandate for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).1 Defying anti-incumbency sentiment and overwhelming pre-poll speculation, the alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)], secured a decisive victory, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 122 seats and heading for a tally well over the 190 mark in the 243-member assembly.2
Incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (JD(U)) is now poised to take the oath for a record tenth time, solidifying his long tenure as Bihar’s longest-serving head of government.3
📊 Final Tally and Key Statistics (As per Latest Trends)
| Alliance | Lead/Won Seats (Approx.) | Majority Mark: 122 |
| National Democratic Alliance (NDA) | 190 – 201+ | Landslide Majority |
| Mahagathbandhan (MGB) | 36 – 40 | Trailing Far Behind |
| Party (Top 4) | Lead/Won Seats (Approx.) | Vote Share (Approx.) |
| BJP | 88 – 91 | 21% |
| JD(U) | 77 – 82 | 18.9% |
| RJD | 25 – 36 | 23% |
| LJP(RV) | 20 – 25 | 6.6% |
📈 The Nitish Kumar Comeback: How the NDA Won
The victory, widely predicted by most exit polls, was primarily fueled by four crucial factors: a robust welfare-centric campaign, a high female voter turnout, the consolidation of the NDA’s traditional vote base, and the surprising performance of alliance partner Chirag Paswan.
1. The Decisive Women’s Mandate
The most significant factor cited by analysts is the massive turnout and support from women voters. The overall voter turnout was a historic 66.91%, with 71.6% of women casting their ballots compared to 62.8% of men.4 This near nine-percentage-point gap indicates that welfare schemes directly targeting women—such as financial aid, educational incentives, and schemes promoting law and order—paid rich dividends, particularly for the JD(U).5 Data shows that in districts where female turnout was significantly higher, the JD(U)’s vote share saw its most substantial gains.6
2. Chirag Paswan’s Strong Debut as an Ally
Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)], contesting as a partner within the NDA, registered significant gains, leading in a notable number of seats.7 This strong performance has elevated Paswan from a peripheral figure to a strategic coalition partner with genuine bargaining power within the alliance.
3. Mahagathbandhan’s Collapse and Vote Splitting
The main opposition, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), failed to translate its aggressive campaign, centered on employment and anti-incumbency, into a decisive mandate.8
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The RJD, while maintaining its position as the single largest opposition party, struggled to convert its vote share into enough seats to challenge the NDA.
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The Congress party proved to be the weak link, struggling to secure a strong strike rate in the seats it contested, mirroring its poor performance in the 2020 polls.9
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The debut of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party failed to gain any significant traction, with its marginal vote share having little impact on the final outcome.10
🚩 Key Constituency Highlights
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Tejashwi Yadav’s Struggle: RJD Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav was reportedly trailing in his own traditional family bastion of Raghopur by a significant margin against the BJP candidate.11
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NDA’s Muslim Pocket Gains: Contrary to historical trends, the NDA registered significant gains in several Muslim-dominated seats, with the JD(U) and LJP(RV) surprising the MGB in these pockets.12
Looking Ahead
The immediate focus will now shift to the distribution of cabinet portfolios and the finalisation of Nitish Kumar’s next cabinet. The victory reinforces the political stability narrative and the power of the NDA’s double-engine governance model in Bihar. For the Mahagathbandhan, the results signal a need for serious introspection on its electoral strategy, alliance coordination, and candidate selection moving forward.
