Bihar: NDA Gets Massive Mandate, Nitish Set for Historic Fifth Term

The 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections delivered a sweeping and decisive mandate to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), reshaping the state’s political landscape and marking one of the most consequential verdicts in recent years. Conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11 across all 243 constituencies, the election saw an unprecedented voter turnout of 66.91%, the highest in Bihar’s history. Women voters once again emerged as a defining force, registering 71.6% turnout, significantly higher than the 62.8% male turnout, signalling remarkable social and political shifts in the state.

Pre-poll surveys had already indicated a strong NDA wave, and the official results confirmed a landslide. According to the Election Commission’s final tally, the BJP won 89 seats, the JD(U) secured 85, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) bagged 19, and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won 5, bringing the NDA’s total to a formidable 202 seats. The opposition Mahagathbandhan (MGB) fell far behind, with the RJD winning 25 seats, and the Congress limited to 6, while Left parties together secured only 3 seats CPI(ML) (Liberation) with 2, CPI(M) with 1. Other smaller parties included AIMIM with 5, Rashtriya Lok Morcha with 4, Indian Inclusive Party with 1, and BSP with 1, while independents and minor outfits accounted for the remaining segment.

The vote share percentages reflect the deeper electoral consolidation behind the NDA. BJP secured 20.08%, JD(U) 19.26%, and LJP(RV) 4.97%, bringing the NDA’s combined vote share to 44.31%. The Mahagathbandhan’s vote share stood at 34.15%, with RJD obtaining 23% and Congress 8.71%. AIMIM garnered 1.85%, BSP 1.62%, CPI(ML)(L) 2.84%, CPI 0.74%, CPI(M) 0.60%, and others aggregated 14%, with NOTA at 1.81%.

Nitish Kumar registered a commanding personal mandate in Harnaut, winning by over 48,000 votes, reinforcing the NDA narrative of stability, governance, and welfare-led performance. BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha cruised to victories in Tarapur and Lakhisarai with margins of 45,843 and 24,940 votes, respectively. Young BJP candidate and singer Maithili Thakur created history by becoming the youngest MLA at 25, after winning Alinagar by 11,730 votes. In Raghopur, RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav retained his seat with 1,18,597 votes, defeating BJP’s Satish Kumar, who polled 1,04,065.

The election also delivered notable upsets. Tej Pratap Yadav of the JJD finished a distant third in Mahua, losing to LJP(RV)’s Sanjay Kumar Singh by an emphatic 44,997-vote margin. Jailed JD(U) leader Anant Singh won from Mokama with a margin of 28,206 votes, demonstrating his continued influence. In contrast, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, contesting nearly all seats, failed to win even one.

The NDA’s victory reflects a skilful re-alignment of Bihar’s social coalitions women, EBCs, OBCs, upper castes, and even sections of minorities mobilised around promises of development, welfare, employment schemes like Mukhyamantri Rojgar Yojana, and political continuity. As Nitish Kumar prepares to begin his historic fifth term as Chief Minister, the results highlight both a consolidating ruling alliance and an opposition grappling with fragmentation and declining electoral resonance. The 2025 mandate reaffirms Bihar’s evolving political identity and sets the tone for its governance trajectory in the years ahead.