Bihar 2025 assembly result: who won, who lost and why it matters
Summary: As vote counting concluded, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was on track for a commanding lead in Bihar’s 243-seat assembly. The outcome is being watched as a key test of political momentum after the June 2024 national election and a measure of BJP appeal among younger and female voters.
Results snapshot
By 5:30pm local time (1200 GMT) on the day counting finished, the Election Commission of India (ECI) showed the NDA had won two seats and was leading in 204 of 243 constituencies. The opposition Grand Alliance (Mahagathabandhan) — led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and including the Indian National Congress — was ahead in 33 seats. Smaller parties outside the two major blocs included the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), leading in one seat, and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which had won or was leading in five seats.
Key party standings (wins/lead; vote share where available):
- BJP: 93 seats (about 20.5% of the vote)
- Janata Dal (United) — JD(U): 83 seats (about 19% of the vote)
- Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) — LJP(RV): 19 seats
- Rashtriya Lok Morcha: 4 seats (leading)
- Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular): 5 seats
- RJD: 26 seats (about 22.8% of the vote)
- Congress: 5 seats (about 8.7% of the vote)
- CPI(ML) (Liberation): 1 seat; CPI(M): 1 seat
High-profile contests
Two constituencies drew intense attention: Raghopur and Alinagar. Raghopur — a long-standing RJD bastion associated with the Yadav family — saw Tejashwi Yadav briefly trail the BJP candidate during counting before building a roughly 13,000-vote lead as most ballots were tallied. A defeat there would have been a historic upset for the family, which has held the seat repeatedly.
In Alinagar, folk singer Maithili Thakur, contesting for the BJP, led the RJD’s Binod Mishra by about 8,588 votes in a closely watched fight that highlighted the role of high-profile candidates.
Why analysts say the NDA gained ground
Analysts point to several factors, notably targeted appeals to women voters. In September the Bihar government disbursed around 10,000 rupees (roughly $112.70) to about 7.5 million women under the Chief Minister’s Women Employment Scheme — a seed-investment initiative the government says beneficiaries can use for agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, tailoring, weaving and other small enterprises. Officials described the transfers as direct assistance to spur women-led economic activity.
Modi’s office: “The assistance can be utilised in areas of the choice of the beneficiary, including agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, tailoring, weaving, and other small-scale enterprises.”
Women made up nearly half of all eligible voters in Bihar. Female turnout in this election was notably high at 71.6%, compared with 62.8% for men — a pattern that has often held since 2010 and has been reinforced by local reforms such as the 2006 reservation of 50% of seats on local bodies for women.
Controversies and the opposition’s concerns
The opposition accused the ECI of conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that critics say may have been applied in ways that risk disenfranchising the poor and other vulnerable groups. The ECI required voters to produce documents proving Indian nationality and residency in their constituency; many of Bihar’s poorest residents — including disadvantaged castes and some Muslim communities — reportedly lack the documentation the ECI listed.
In September the ECI removed about 4.7 million names from Bihar’s rolls, leaving roughly 74.2 million registered voters. Removals in Seemanchal, a Muslim-majority region, exceeded the state average, prompting concerns from opposition parties that the process could disproportionately affect communities that typically support the RJD-Congress alliance.
Wider significance
Bihar — India’s third-most populous state, home to about 130 million people — commands significant political weight and sends the fifth-largest number of MPs to the national parliament. The assembly result was widely seen as a barometer of public sentiment after the June 2024 national election, in which Narendra Modi secured a third term as prime minister but the BJP fell short of an outright majority and relied on regional allies such as JD(U) to form the government.
Since the national vote, the BJP has won most major state contests, and the party’s momentum appeared to continue in Bihar’s assembly race.
