The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has secured a resounding victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, returning to power with an overwhelming mandate and reaffirming Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s political dominance. The ruling coalition registered a landslide win, crushing the opposition Mahagathbandhan in results declared on Friday (November 14, 2025). As per the Election Commission of India, the NDA achieved a three-fourth majority, winning 202 of 243 seats, while its total vote share stood at 46.7%, significantly ahead of the INDIA bloc’s 37.5%.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, followed closely by the JD(U) with 85. Other alliance partners such as the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP (RV)] secured 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)] won 5, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) bagged 4. In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan witnessed a complete collapse, managing only 35 seats in total.

Mahagathbandhan suffers heavy losses

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats—far below expectations—while the Congress performed poorly yet again, securing only six seats. The CPI(ML) Liberation won two seats, CPI(M) took one, and the Indian Islamic Party (IIP) managed one. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM delivered a modest surprise by winning five seats. In a significant setback, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party failed to win any seat in its debut electoral contest, despite considerable pre-election buzz.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the results “truly surprising” and reiterated that the election was “not fair from the very beginning”. He added that the INDIA bloc will conduct a detailed review to understand the gaps and plan future corrections.

Chirag Paswan meets Nitish Kumar, calls victory ‘historic’

Celebrations within the NDA camp continued as LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. Paswan expressed gratitude for the CM’s support and dismissed allegations of friction within the alliance, calling such narratives “misleading”. He noted that Nitish Kumar appreciated the contribution of every NDA partner, reinforcing the unity within the coalition.

Narrow margins in several key seats

Despite the overall landslide, some constituencies reported razor-thin victories.

  • In Sandesh, JD(U)’s Radha Charan Shah won by a margin of only 27 votes.
  • In Agiaon, the BJP candidate defeated CPI(ML) Liberation by 95 votes.
  • Ramgarh saw a victory margin of just 30 votes for BSP’s Satish Kumar Singh Yadav.
  • Several other seats, including Nabinagar and Dhaka, also recorded margins below 250 votes.

These tight contests indicate micro-level shifts in voter sentiment even amid a wider sweep.

Major upsets: Tej Pratap Yadav among key losers

One of the major highlights of the election was the defeat of Tej Pratap Yadav, the eldest son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Contesting from Mahua on a Jan Janaki Dal (JJD) ticket after being expelled from the RJD, he finished third, losing by 51,938 votes. The seat was won by LJP (RV)’s Sanjay Kumar Singh.

Several Congress leaders and sitting MLAs across parties also faced defeats, reflecting broad dissatisfaction with the opposition alliance.

Women voters and welfare schemes shaped the mandate

Analysts indicate that a dramatic rise in women voter participation played a decisive role in the JD(U)’s strong performance. Districts with higher female turnout saw a stronger NDA vote share. Nitish Kumar’s Mahila Rozgar Yojna, which provided ₹10,000 to around 1.25 crore women, appears to have significantly boosted support for the ruling coalition.

Criticism of ECI continues despite clean electoral conduct

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin remarked that the results do not absolve the Election Commission of India of its “misdeeds and reckless actions”, arguing that public confidence in the institution remains low. However, the ECI described the Bihar election as a “model election”, with record turnouts and no repolling required.

Conclusion

With the NDA securing 202 seats and Nitish Kumar poised to continue as Chief Minister, the 2025 Bihar Assembly election marks one of the largest mandates in the state’s recent history. The verdict reflects consolidated support for the NDA, a strengthened base among women and youth, and a profound setback for the INDIA bloc. Bihar now moves into another term under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, with expectations set high for governance and welfare delivery.