Bihar Elections: In a resounding verdict on November 14, 2025, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stormed to a landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, surging past the 200-seat mark in the 243-member house. Election Commission trends showed the NDA leading on 202 seats — BJP on 90, JD(U) on 84, LJP(RV) on 21, HAM on 4, and RLM on 3 — while the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) limped along at just 35 seats, with RJD on 25, Congress on 6, and Left parties (CPI(ML) on 5, others 1 each) scraping the bottom.
This achievement eclipses the NDA's razor-thin 2020 win of 125 seats (BJP 74, JD(U) 43, others 8) against MGB's 110 (RJD 75, Congress 19, Left 16), where vote shares were nearly tied at 37.26% for NDA and 37.23% for MGB, but efficient NDA strike rates clinched it. In 2025, NDA's vote share hit 47.2%, up from 37.26%, while MGB's dipped to 37.3% from 37.23%, reflecting a sharper consolidation. BJP jumped from 74 to 90 seats, a 22% gain driven by rural outreach; JD(U) nearly doubled from 43 to 84, reclaiming EBC and OBC strongholds; RJD slipped from 75 to 25, losing Yadav-Muslim consolidation; Congress halved from 19 to 6, squeezed by allies; Left fell from 16 to 6, retaining urban pockets but fading elsewhere.
This shift underscores NDA's dominance in 202 of 243 seats, with MGB confined to under 40. This election was all about Nitish Kumar because his governance outshone rivals' rhetoric — delivering tangible welfare amid Tejashwi Yadav's untested pledges and Prashant Kishor's unproven hype. At 74, Nitish's low-profile campaign, shunning media frenzy for quiet rallies, neutralised health whispers and memes, letting schemes like the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana (₹10,000 to 1.41 crore women) speak volumes. Women's turnout hit 71.78% (vs men's 62.98%), tilting scales in 53 districts where female voters exceeded 53%, boosting NDA's edge.
Nitish the Undisputed Bihar King
For decades, Nitish Kumar has been Bihar's political phoenix, rising from repeated "obituaries" penned by rivals and skeptics. Analysts and opposition leaders have forecast his downfall — citing age, alliances, or scandals—yet each time, he defies the narrative. In 2025, whispers of JD(U) crumbling below 30 seats echoed pre-poll chatter, fueled by health rumours of frailty and fatigue. Social media memes mocked his halting gait and sparse public appearances, painting him as a relic unfit for another term. But Nitish, ever the tactician, embraced a low-profile strategy: zero media soundbites, just a handful of rallies focusing on unfinished roads and school upgrades.
This invisibility was genius — it sidestepped gaffes, conserved energy, and amplified his "Sushasan Babu" aura of steady delivery over drama. Unlike flashier peers, Nitish's appeal isn't charisma but results: Bihar's GDP growth from 2.9% in 2005 to 10.5% in 2024, per state economic surveys, with roads tripling to 1.2 lakh km and electricity reaching 99% households. Voters, weary of Bihar's chaotic past, rewarded this reliability. JD(U)'s 75 seats — up from 43 — prove his indispensability; even the BJP bowed to his CM claim pre-poll. In a state where flip-flops could doom dynasties, Nitish's resilience cements him as king: not through bluster, but by turning scepticism into supremacy.
Narrative Vacuum: RJD's Echoes of Jungle Raj
Tejashwi Yadav's MGB hammered unemployment (youth joblessness at 18.3%, per PLFS 2024) and poverty (Bihar's 33.7% rate, NSSO data), vowing ₹2,500 monthly for women, 1.3 crore jobs (one per household), and ₹2,000 pensions for the elderly. Flashy pledges like free 200-unit power and doubled panchayat allowances aimed to paint Nitish as stagnant. Yet, these rang hollow against history: under Lalu-Rabri's RJD rule (1990-2005), poverty soared to 54.4% (from 52.2% in 1987-88), unemployment hit 15%, and "jungle raj" saw 1.5 lakh kidnappings yearly, per NCRB archives.
Bihar's HDI lagged at 0.367 (2001), with lawlessness stifling growth. Nitish ignored the bait, never engaging MGB's "vote chori" cries or corruption barbs over SIR revisions (deleting 22.7 lakh women voters, but boosting female turnout via outreach). Instead, he doubled down on schemes: ₹1,100 monthly honorariums for 1.4 lakh Jeevika women (up from ₹400), 7% loan rates for SHGs, and 35% job quotas. There were no rebuttals to Tejashwi's "20 months to change Bihar"— just quiet acknowledgements of progress, such as the construction of 10,000 schools since 2005. Voters, recalling RJD's era of "bhukhmari aur goondaraj," dismissed random promises for proven stability. MGB's 39 seats reflect this: rhetoric without record crumbles when delivery endures.
The Woman Factor: Women's Quiet Revolution
Nitish's Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana — launched September 2025 as "Dashazari" — was no gimmick: ₹10,000 non-repayable grants to one woman per family, targeting 2.5 crore households via DBT. By poll day, 1.41 crore received it (₹14,100 crore disbursed), per state audits, fueling SHGs in tailoring, kirana, and agri-processing. This was built on Kanya Utthan (₹50,000 post-graduation for girls) and Balika Cycle (free bikes for 1 crore Class 9 girls, cutting dropouts 20%). Women, 47% of 7.43 crore voters, adore Nitish: NFHS-5 shows 80% credit him for safer streets post-liquor ban.
In 2025, female turnout (71.78%) outstripped men's (62.98%) — a 4-lakh gap — driving NDA's sweep in 53 districts with >53% women voters. Rural EBC women (Nitish's core) cited schemes for dignity: "Pehle ghar mein dar, ab izzat" (fear to respect).
Tejashwi’s ₹2,500 monthly promise was written off by voters as a “baad ka sapna” — a distant dream — when placed against Nitish Kumar’s “haath mein paisa” model of immediate, tangible benefits. The emerging "Mahila Mandate" has transformed the narrow contest of 2020, with women, who previously accounted for 45% of the turnout, now dominating Bihar's electoral landscape.
Nitish’s relentless focus on welfare — health camps pushing immunisation to 95%, and over two lakh “pink toilets” reshaping dignity and hygiene — has converted beneficiaries into steadfast loyalists. Once again, Bihar proves a simple truth: in politics, welfare delivered on time can defeat the grandest of promises.
Prashant Kishor's Hype vs. Nitish's Ground Game
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj debuted with fanfare — a 3,000-km padyatra decrying caste "shackles," vowing youth jobs and anti-corruption. Contesting 239 seats, he hyped social media blitzes (10% vote share projected) to transcend Bihar's arithmetic. Yet, trends show zero seats, a 4-9% vote flop per exit poll.
While Kishor disparaged caste realities (EBCs at 18% and Yadavs at 14%), Nitish successfully navigated them, allocating 101 seats each to BJP/JD(U) and consolidating non-Yadav OBCs/Mahadalits, who make up 51% of the population. Visible schemes like ₹10,000 grants outshone Kishor's abstractions; his urban echo fizzled in rural 70% Bihar.
Jan Suraaj split the MGB votes, resulting in a 39-seat loss for the RJD, but Nitish's delivery of roads and power proved to be more tangible than trendy. In Bihar's chessboard, ground trumps grid.
(Sayantan Ghosh teaches journalism at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata. He is the author of The Aam Aadmi Party: The Untold Story of a Political Uprising and Its Undoing.)
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