The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) powered ahead in the counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections on Friday, crossing the 200-seat mark by noon and setting the stage for a decisive mandate, according to the Election Commission of India.
By 3.00 p.m., the NDA was leading in 201 constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the highest advantage with 95 seats, followed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in 82 seats. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] led in 19 seats, while the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) was ahead in five.
The Mahagathbandhan continued to trail with 33 seats, of which Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) secured leads in 26. The Congress was ahead in five seats and the CPI(ML) Liberation in one.
Among other parties, AIMIM put up a striking show with leads in six constituencies, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Independent candidates were ahead in one seat each.
The vote-share trends reflected a competitive landscape. The BJP registered 20.89% of votes counted so far, followed by JD(U) at 18.98% and LJP(RV) at 5.14%. Within the Mahagathbandhan, the RJD recorded 22.80%, Congress 8.37%, and CPI(ML) Liberation 3.07%.
Counting began at 8 a.m. across all 243 constituencies under multi-layer security. Postal ballots were taken up first, followed by EVM results from 8:30 a.m. A robust system of 4,372 counting tables and over 18,000 counting agents has been deployed to ensure a smooth process. Most exit polls had anticipated an NDA win, though some had hinted at a close contest.
This election has once again sharpened the rivalry between the NDA led by Nitish Kumar and the Mahagathbandhan led by Tejashwi Yadav. In the 2020 Assembly polls, the NDA won 125 seats and formed the government with Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister. In 2022, Kumar briefly switched sides to lead a government with the RJD–Congress alliance, before returning to the NDA ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
The electoral journey over the past decade shows shifting political strengths. The BJP rose from 53 wins in 2015 to 74 in 2020, while the RJD continued to remain a major player, winning 80 seats in 2015 and 75 in 2020. JD(U) experienced a decline from 71 seats in 2015 to 43 in 2020, while the Congress dropped from 27 to 19 seats in the same period.
The NDA currently consists of the BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha. The Mahagathbandhan includes the RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI, CPI(M) and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).