The Bihar Assembly election has delivered a resounding mandate for the NDA, with the alliance comfortably crossing over 200 seats in the 243-member House. The coalition’s welfare-driven pitch, marketed as the “Ladali Behen and Bhai of Bihar” model, appears to have struck a chord with voters, powering one of the most sweeping victories the state has witnessed in recent years. The NDA’s performance drew strength from the combined showing of the BJP, JD(U) and LJRPV, with HAM(S) adding five seats to the tally.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party, winning 89 seats and further consolidating its dominance over Bihar’s political landscape. Across these constituencies, the BJP recorded an average victory margin of around 23,068 votes. Its most decisive triumph came in Amour (56), where Akhtarul Iman clinched a margin of 38,928 votes, while the closest contest for the party played out in Kochadhaman (55), where Md. Sarwar Alam secured victory by 23,021 votes.
The Janata Dal (United) secured 83 seats and was leading in two more, delivering a performance marked by both sweeping wins and razor-thin margins. The party’s average winning margin stood at 24,967.88 votes. Its standout victory came in Rupauli (60), where Kaladhar Prasad Mandal won by 73,572 votes, the largest margin in the entire election. At the other end of the spectrum, Sandesh (192) produced the tightest finish of the race, with Radha Charan Sah winning by just 27 votes. JD(U) registered 33 victories with margins above 30,000 while seven seats turned into nail-biters decided by fewer than 5,000 votes.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Chirag Paswan, delivered one of its strongest performances to date, rising from its single-digit tally in 2020 to secure 19 seats. The party posted an average margin of about 21,430 votes. Its most emphatic win came in Sugauli (11), where Rajesh Kumar, also known as Bablu Gupta, won by 58,191 votes. The closest contest unfolded in Balrampur (65), where Sangita Devi edged through by just 389 votes. The LJRPV clinched five seats with margins exceeding 30,000 votes, while three contests were decided by fewer than 5,000 votes.
On the opposition front, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) suffered a significant setback, managing only 24 seats. Party leader and CM face Tejashwi Yadav won his own seat by a margin of 14,532 votes against BJP candidate Satish Kumar. The RJD’s average winning margin hovered around 10,448 votes. Its most comfortable win was in Bahadurpur, with a margin of 39,562 votes, while Rajauli was the only seat the party won with fewer than 5,000 votes, finishing at 3,742. Overall, the RJD secured three seats with margins above 30,000 and six with margins over 20,000.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) put up a strong fight despite its limited presence in the state, winning five seats, just one fewer than the Congress. The party delivered impressive numbers in the constituencies it contested, with an average victory margin of about 29,346 votes, signalling strong consolidation in its pockets of influence.
The Congress, however, suffered one of its most disappointing results in recent years, failing to cross even the double-digit mark and settling for just six seats. Its average winning margin stood at around 7,200 votes. The party’s best showing came from Manihari, where Manohar Prasad Singh secured a lead of 15,168 votes. In stark contrast, it nearly lost Forbesganj, where Manoj Bishwas scraped through by a slender margin of just 221 votes, one of the closest finishes of the entire election.
With the verdict now sealed, political attention has shifted squarely to the Chief Minister’s office. With the BJP emerging as the dominant force within the NDA, the central question is whether Nitish Kumar will retain the top post, or whether Bihar will see a new face at the helm in 2025.
