NDA retains power in Bihar with 202 seats, Mahagathbandhan decimated; PM Modi sets Bengal the next target
Bihar elections 2025: The ruling NDA has swept Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243 member state assembly, while the Opposition Mahagathbandhan managed to secure only 35 seats.
The ruling NDA swept aside the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Friday to retain power, reaffirming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s enduring appeal, while dealing a major blow to the Congress and its ally the RJD.
The scale of the National Democratic Alliance’s victory can be seen in the strike rate of its two main partners, the BJP and the JD(U), each contesting 101 seats and heading for a success rate of over 85 per cent. The alliance is on track to cross the 200 mark for a three fourth majority, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party based on the latest results and trends at 9.30 pm.
“The people of Bihar, with this massive victory and their unshakable confidence, have taken the state by storm (garda uda diya),” Prime Minister Modi told cheering party workers at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, after greeting them with a wave of a gamcha.
The BJP won 87 seats, rising from 74 in 2020, while Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal U secured 78 seats, up from 43. The majority mark in the 243 member assembly is 122. The BJP and the JD(U) were leading in two and seven seats respectively.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s tally dropped to 24 from 75, and the Congress managed only six out of the 61 seats it contested, sliding from 19. The RJD was leading in one seat.
Hailing the NDA’s emphatic win, Prime Minister Modi said it had introduced a new “MY, Mahila and Youth” formula, with voters rejecting the “communal MY formula of the jungle raj people”.
In a clear reference to the RJD’s traditional Muslim Yadav support base, Modi said that some parties had built an “MY formula” in Bihar, but that the mandate had now delivered a “positive MY, Mahila and Youth” formula.
Overcoming anti incumbency, Chief Minister Kumar thanked the people for giving the NDA a “landslide” victory.
“People of the state have expressed their confidence in our government by giving us a landslide mandate in the polls. For this, I bow to all the esteemed voters of the state, and express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks,” Kumar wrote in a post on X.
He also thanked Prime Minister Modi for his continued support to the NDA government in the state.
A combination of state and central welfare schemes, including monetary support for women as part of the NDA’s women focused outreach, repeated reminders of the “jungle raj” under earlier RJD rule by Modi and other NDA campaigners and the appeal of a double-engine government appears to have fuelled the sweeping mandate.
By effectively navigating complex caste and community dynamics, the NDA’s broader caste coalition dented the Mahagathbandhan’s core vote bank. Multiple welfare measures for Economically Backward Class households, strong support from women who backed the liquor ban and the backing of young voters contributed to the five party alliance’s victory. One of the most notable features of the election was the exceptionally high turnout of women.
The NDA also seemed to perform strongly in Muslim dominated constituencies, suggesting a possible shift in voting patterns.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, seen as an “X factor” in the Bihar elections with candidates in all but three seats, failed to make an impact. The party, launched by the former political strategist, did not succeed in drawing votes despite an energetic campaign centred on issues such as unemployment, migration and the lack of industrial growth.
Also read: NDA sweeps state with massive mandate, Mahagathbandhan faces setback