Bihar is gearing up for a high-stakes Assembly election, with the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule on Monday. Voting will be conducted in two phases—on November 6 and November 11—with results to be declared on November 14.
With the announcement of dates, political activity has intensified, particularly among alliance partners negotiating seat-sharing arrangements.
2024 Lok Sabha results set stage for Assembly polls
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 30 seats with a vote share of 47.23% in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal United (JDU) won 12 seats each, while Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) won 5 seats. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) won a lone seat of Gaya. The BJP got 20.52% of the total votes, while the JDU received 18.52%.
NDA's performance: BJP, JDU and allies dominate
The remaining NDA partners include LJP (Ram Vilas) with 6.47% of votes, HAM with 1.14%, and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) securing 0.58% of the vote share. If we translate these results into Assembly seats, then the JDU was leading in 74 seats and the BJP was ahead in 67. The LJP-RV and the HAM took the lead in 29 and 4 seats, respectively. The NDA as an alliance group was leading on 174 seats.
Mahagathbandhan's performance: RJD remains key player
The Mahagathbandhan won 9 seats with a vote share of 39.21% in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), with 22.14% of the vote share, won 4 seats, while the Congress, with 9.20%, won 3 seats. The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation won 2 seats of Karakat and Arrah and received 2.99% of the vote share. The Vikassheel Insaan Party (2.71%), the Communist Party of India (1.30%) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (0.87%) drew a blank.
If these results are mapped onto Assembly segments, the RJD would be leading in 36 seats and the Congress in 12, while the CPI-ML(L) also held a lead in 12 segments. The CPI and VIP were ahead in one seat each. Overall, the Mahagathbandhan was leading on 62 seats.
ALSO READ:
