By Karuna Kumari Patna: The Election Commission of India announced the final results for all 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections on Thursday night, highlighting a significant win for the National Democratic Alliance and establishing the BJP as the largest party in the state. According to the ECI’s website, the BJP secured 89 of the 101 seats it contested, closely followed by Nitish Kumar’s JD (U), which captured 85 seats from the same number of contests. The NDA’s smaller partners also performed well: Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) won 19 of 28 seats, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM(S) claimed five out of six, and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha won all four seats it contested.
The Grand Alliance faced a significant downturn. The RJD, previously a dominant force in Bihar, managed to win only 25 of the 143 seats it contested. The Congress performed even worse, winning just six out of 61 seats. Mukesh Sahni’s VIP, which contested 14 seats, did not secure any victories. Among the Left parties, CPI(ML) won two seats and the CPM one. Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM emerged unexpectedly strong in the Seemanchal region, winning five of 24 seats, while the BSP also claimed a single victory in Ramgarh on the Bihar–Uttar Pradesh border. The NDA’s triumph enables it to form the government in Bihar once more, breaking a 20-year trend of anti-incumbency with a commanding mandate.
Analysts attribute this surge to Nitish Kumar’s Women’s Employment Scheme, known as “Das Hazari”, which provided Rs 10,000 to 12.1 million women, bolstering the JD (U)’s support among female voters. The opposition’s disorganization also played a significant role; while the NDA finalized its seat-sharing agreement within six days of the election announcement, the Grand Alliance struggled to establish its formula even weeks into the campaign. Internal conflicts were evident as alliance partners contested against one another in eight constituencies. In response to the results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the outcome as a reaffirmation of the NDA’s governance.
He asserted that Bihar has once again rejected the “Jungle Raj” of the RJD era, emphasizing that such a government will not return. With the NDA’s strong performance and unified allies behind Nitish Kumar, the coalition is poised for another term, while the opposition must work to recover from a significant defeat.