Bihar elections: NDA scores a double century in blow to Mahagathbandhan

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the single largest party in a Bihar Assembly election for the first time, as it led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a landslide win in results declared on Friday. The performance follows the party’s setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when it fell short of a simple majority.

The BJP won 89 seats, while its allies in the NDA also posted strong performances. The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) secured its best tally since 2010 with 85 seats, and Union minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19 seats. In all, the NDA scored a “double-century”, finishing with 202 seats.

The Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won just 25 seats — only three more than its worst tally of 22 in 2010 — with party leader Tejashwi Yadav failing to reprise his 2020 appeal. This was even as the RJD secured the highest vote share among all parties at 23 per cent. The Congress won only six seats, two more than its worst showing in 2010.

Addressing party workers and supporters at the BJP headquarters in the national capital in the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted a split in the Congress and the end of the road for the RJD, and said the BJP had consolidated its electoral footprint since the marginal reverses it had faced in the Lok Sabha polls.

Modi noted that the BJP-led NDA had recorded a series of emphatic Assembly wins since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — notably in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and now Bihar. He told voters in West Bengal that the BJP would end what he called “jungle raj” there as well. The BJP’s “victory march”, he said, would follow the Ganga’s course from Bihar to Bengal, adding that the Bihar result would energise party workers in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry and Assam. The five states are slated to vote in April-May 2026. With the BJP and the JD(U) — which contested 101 seats each — posting strike rates of 88 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively, the NDA won 83 per cent of the state’s 243 seats.

The NDA’s next challenge is to deliver on its promises, including its pledge to create 15 million jobs in the state. Modi promised jobs for Bihar’s youth and more investments there. He said people had voted for pro-people governance, adding: “Investment will come to Bihar, and this investment will bring more jobs. Tourism will expand in Bihar, and people will see Bihar’s new strength.”

Modi hailed Kumar’s leadership and acknowledged the contribution of other allies. Workers of the BJP, JD(U) and their partners credited the win to the “jodi” of Modi and Kumar. Waving a gamcha, Modi said the NDA’s mandate had redefined “MY” as Mahila (women) and Yuva (youth), countering what he called the RJD’s “Muslim-Yadav” formula of the “jungle raj” years. He credited women and young voters for the outcome. Nearly 60 per cent of Bihar’s population is under 29. In the runup to the polls, the Nitish Kumar government disbursed ₹10,000 each to over 10 million women and increased the pension for senior citizens from ₹400 to ₹1,100.

“People of the state have expressed their confidence in our government by giving us a landslide mandate in the polls. For this, I bow to all the esteemed voters of the state, and express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks,” Kumar wrote in a post on X. He also expressed gratitude to the PM for his continuous support to the NDA government in the state.

The NDA’s campaign centred on its welfare schemes and leadership. Union Home Minister Amit Shah warned that the alleged “jungle raj” of RJD rule could return. The NDA’s broader social coalition also outstripped that of the rival Mahagathbandhan (“grand alliance”), as reflected in its higher vote share. Modi said voters in Bihar had chosen “santushtikaran” (satisfaction) and rejected the politics of “tushtikaran” (appeasement).

Beyond women and youth, the NDA targeted schemes at economically backward class (EBC) households, which constitute 36 per cent of the population, including 10 per cent Muslims. The prime minister also congratulated the Election Commission for conducting a peaceful election, and said the youth’s support for the alliance showed a desire for “purified” electoral rolls. Bihar recorded its highest turnout since 1951, with women voting in greater numbers. The NDA also appeared to fare well in the Seemanchal region, which has traditionally backed the RJD and the Congress. Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party performed poorly, failing to win a single seat.