Coalition calculus fuels sweep for tight-knit NDA

The 2025 assembly election in Bihar was nota typical electoral battle for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the state was a battleground in more ways than one. The party had to walk a tightrope, balancing its own ascendant graph in the state with the interests of the coalition itis part of, headed by the Janata Dal (United). Italso faced anti-incumbency and a seemingly energised opposition.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

(From left) Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, PM Narendra Modi, and Union minister Chirag Paswan at a rally in Samastipur.

(SANTOSH KUMAR/HT)

It has reason to be pleased. The NDA won 202 seats, with the BJP itself winning 89, making it the single largest party ina state where it has never had a chief minister, Party leaders attribute the landslide win to smart alliance politics, the right campaign issues, and leveraging the popularity of chief minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The first step was building a cohesive coalition of castes. Bringing onboard parties with dedicated caste-based votebanks ensured the NDA cast its net wide. Senior functionaries who steered the campaign stated preparations began around the Lok Sabha elections last year. After the JDU's support enabled the BJP to form the government at the centre, the terms of engagement were revisited.

The BJP, habitually the NDA’s big brother, opted for a less dominant role. “The BJP has always maintained coalition dharma... This time there were more allies so it was natural to face some challenges, but in the end it was a gathbandhan ka chunav and we delivered,” a senior functionary said.

The coalition brought together a wide social base: the BJP’s upper caste votebank; the JD(U) with EBCs, Kurmis, and Kushwahas; the LJP (Ram Vilas) with the Paswan community; the HAM(S) with the Mushahar community; and the RLM with the OBC Koeri community.