BIHAR'S VERDICT, DECODED:

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY—AND WHAT THEY'LL CHANGE

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Bihar’s verdict was shaped by welfare gains and anger over prices, youth joblessness, a reworked NDA caste-plus-women coalition, and a weak third front.

Seat-sharing — which left the Congress with 30 seats, nearly all of which it lost —is likely to be overhauled. The RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, who took over from his father Lalu Prasad during the last cycle, faces leadership questions after failing to cross 30 seats. An introspection on youth outreach and women's issues is inevitable. Smaller experiments in Seemanchal (AIMIM, independents) may reemerge in local body polls.

TOP FIVE CONSTITUENCY STORIES

1. Biggest swing seat - Raghopur: RJD’s heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav had held Raghopur since 2015. He lost to BJP’s Satish Kumar by just under 5,000 votes after leading early in the day. The constituency, which had given him double-digit margins in 2020, swung by over 15 percentage points, reflecting both anti-incumbency and a shift among young and female voters.

2: Biggest giant-killing - Mahua: Tej Pratap Yadav, Tejashwi's elder brother, finished third in Mahua behind the Lok Janshakti Party candidate by more than 26,000 votes. The seat had been an RJD bastion; the result underscores the collapse of the Yadav family’s hold over its home turf.

3. Seemanchal surprise - Kishanganj: Kishanganj, Bihar’s only Muslim-majority district, defied predictions of an RJD sweep. A relatively unknown Independent backed by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) edged past both NDA and RJD candidates, signalling voter impatience with both alliances.