Bihar Elections 2025

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has taken the lead in early trends suggested by TV channels as counting began for the 243 Assembly seats of Bihar.

As results continue to come in, the NDA was leading with 190 seats against the MGB's 58 seats, according to NDTV at 11:30 am. The majority mark in the Bihar assembly is 122, which means the ruling alliance has crossed the majority mark, as per early trends on TV.

The Bihar Legislative Assembly elections for 243 seats were held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on 14 November, Friday.

Most Exit Polls predicted a victory for National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Both the phases of Bihar election saw record turnout of over 67 per cent electorate exercising their franchise. The ruling NDA banked on the 20-year rule of Nitish Kumar in the state and the 11-year rule of the PM Modi government at the Centre. The opposition Mahagathbandhan had hopes on anti-incumbency, misgovernance and job promises.

Bihar was the only assembly election being held in 2025 other than Delhi which was held in February. In 2024, assembly elections were held in 2024 in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti in the Maharashtra election, while the JMM-led INDIA bloc won the elections in Jharkhand.

Why Bihar Matters?

The Bihar election assumes significance not just because it is one of the largest states in the Hindi belt, but also because of the state's relatively poor economic condition. Bihar contributes approximately 2.8% of India’s total economy, despite having 10% of the population, which indicates a lower average economic output per person compared to many other states. Bihar Election 2025 is an important milestone in deciding the political direction of the state. In this election, major parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United) and other regional parties were face-to-face. The election is a typical National Democratic Alliance (NDA) vs INDIA bloc fight. The BJP, JD-U and other parties were in the NDA grouping, while the opposition RJD, Congress, and the left parties were in the INDIA bloc. Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s party Jan Suraaj was also in the fray in the Bihar elections this year. Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM also contested elections on 25 seats in Bihar

What were the issues?

The voters choose their representatives, considering issues like development, employment, law and order, and education. The Election Commission’s SIR process (Special Intensive Revision) of the voter list in Bihar has resulted in the removal of 65 lakh voters from the rolls, aiming to clean up the list by removing duplicates, deceased voters, etc. This move had sparked controversy with Congress accusing the Election Commission of undermining democratic fairness.
What happened in the last election? The Bihar Legislative Assembly election 2020 was held in three phases from October to November to elect members to the Seventeenth Bihar Legislative Assembly. After the elections, incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and sworn in again as Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar, however, switched sides and formed a government with RJD and Congress, only to return to NDA fold in January 2024.