The 2025 assembly elections in Bihar surprised many as Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stormed to power in the state despite 20 years of anti-incumbency. The NDA, consisting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kumar's Janata Dal United (JDU), won more than 200 seats, which is its best performance in Bihar since the 2010 assembly polls.
On the other hand, the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagathbandhan faced a major setback and won just 34 seats. The RJD, which had emerged as the single largest party in Bihar after 2015 and 2020 polls, won just a meager 25, which is also its worst performance since 2010. Congress also continued its dismal performing winning just six seats out of the 61 it contested.
Chirag's LJP strengthens NDA's foothold in Bihar
Apart from the BJP and the JDU, Union Minister Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) was one of the top performers in the NDA. The LJP, which was allotted 29 seats as part of the seat-sharing pact, won 19 seats with a strike rate of 65.51 per cent. The party's vote share, according to the data provided by the Election Commission of India (ECI), was also 4.97 per cent.
This is significant improvement from the 2020 assembly polls when the undivided LJP had won just one seat out of the 137 it contested. The party's vote share back then was 5.8 per cent, but it could be attributed to the fact that it had contested on far more seats.
In 2020, Chirag had fielded candidates mostly against Kumar's JDU but he returned to the NDA fold before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where he won all five seats it contested. His performance is now helping the ruling alliance further growth its foothold in a state, which is quite politically significant in India.
AIMIM outperforms Congress, Jan Suraaj
Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has also impressed in an election that was completely dominated by the NDA. The party, which contested 27 seats mainly focusing on the Seemanchal region, won five seats with a vote share of 1.85 per cent. AIMIM has repeated its 2020 performance when it had won five seats, all in the Seemanchal region.
Though four of its MLAs switched to the RJD, the AIMIM has managed to win the same five constituencies - Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj, Amour, Baisi and Jokihat. Its performance is also a message to the Mahagathbandhan, which had refused to include it into the alliance. The party has now blamed Congress and the RJD for the 'division of minority votes'.
VIP's dismal show
One of the worst performers in Bihar elections has been Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). The party reportedly had demanded at least 40 seats from its Magathbandhan partners, but was given just 19 seats and was promised the position of deputy chief minister if the alliance comes to power. However, the party failed to impress and couldn't even secure a seat.
In contrast, the party had performed fairly well during the 2020 polls when it contested as a part of the NDA and won four seats. Sahani, a former Bihar minister, has accepted the results and said his party will analyse its performance.
"We will stand with the public so they are not cheated," he told news agency on Friday. "The base votes went to us... But a huge section, especially the women, blindly voted for Nitish Kumar, which is why he has received such a huge mandate."
