Bihar Election Results: NDA Scripts Landslide Win With 202 Seats; BJP Emerges Single-Largest Party

The NDA extended its lead in the Bihar Assembly election on Friday, crossing the 200-mark of the 243 — well above the majority mark of 122. The Mahagathbandhan finished with 35 seats. The BJP won 89 seats, while the JD(U) got 85. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), headed by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, won 19 seats. Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won five seats.

The Mahagathbandhan’s RJD won 25 seats while the Congress got only six. The Jan Suraaj Party, founded by Prashant Kishor, didn't win a single constituency despite brief early gains.

“There is a significant surge in women’s support for the NDA. The margin seems to be 20-30% over the opposition. BJP and JDU each are more than the entire Mahagathbandhan’s vote share. It shows the scale of the victory,” psephologist Amitabh Tiwari said.

The JD(U)’s showing indicated it remains central to the alliance after two decades in power, countering expectations that it would lose influence. A finish as the single-largest party would mirror the 2005 and 2010 elections, when the JD(U) led the NDA’s tally.

The Mahagathbandhan’s campaign questioned Nitish Kumar’s health and promoted RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its Chief Ministerial face. The counting suggested the messaging did not shift voter preference.

Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) recorded significant gains inside the NDA, leading in 19 of the 28 seats it contested. The party won all five seats it fought in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

NDTV’s poll of exit polls projected 146 seats for the NDA and 92 for the Mahagathbandhan, down from 110 in the last Assembly. In the 2020 election, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats while contesting 144, achieving a strike rate of 52% but falling 12 seats short of forming the government. The BJP won 74 seats and overtook the JD(U) as the larger partner, while the JD(U) secured 43.

The RJD's influence showed a steep decline from 2020. The Congress, contesting 61 seats, won only six compared with 19 in 2020. Its early strike rate of 26.2% was slightly below the 27.1% posted in the previous election. Based on the results, the Congress grossly underperformed.

The campaign led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi focused on allegations of “vote-chori” and criticism of voter roll changes, but it did not alter the direction of the count. The RJD’s strike rate fell more sharply than the Congress.

Jan Suraaj failed to retain its initial lead. The party, founded by Prashant Kishor, which briefly led in early rounds, didn't win anywhere. Bihar unit president Manoj Bharti said the party could not communicate its message effectively. The campaign focused on education, unemployment and migration, shaping parts of the political debate but not converting into seats.

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