Takeaway from Bihar: Pro-incumbency a trend under PM Modi

Wherever PM Modi’s governance model takes root, pro-incumbency becomes the dominant political force.

- PRADEEP BHANDARI

The 2025 Bihar Assembly election has delivered a mandate of rare clarity. With the NDA crossing the 200-seat mark, the verdict reaffirms a political reality that has taken shape steadily over the past decade: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the defining face of pro-incumbency in Indian politics. Where once Indian elections were governed by anti-incumbency cycles, Bihar 2025 shows that voters increasingly reward leadership they trust, governance they feel, and continuity they value.

MANDATE REFLECTS NATIONAL POLITICAL SHIFT

As India’s third-most populated state and one of its most rural, Bihar serves as a vital barometer of national sentiment. Nearly 89% of its population lives in villages—making this overwhelmingly rural endorsement even more significant. The NDA‘s victory is not just a state-level outcome; it reflects the maturing of a political trend where PM Modis governance has turned continuity into a dependable electoral preference.

RISE OF PRO-INCUMBENCY UNDER PM MODI

Over the past decade, a striking pattern has emerged across the country: wherever PM Modi’s governance model takes root, pro-incumbency becomes the dominant political force. India has witnessed three consecutive pro-incumbent Lok Sabha mandates in 2014, 2019 and 2024, each reinforcing voter confidence in continuity. In Gujarat, the BJP has been renewed in office without interruption since 1998. Goa has returned the party to power consistently since 2012. Haryana has done so since 2014, Assam since 2016, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand since 2017, and Tripura since 2018. No political leader in contemporary India has converted stability into a self-sustaining electoral preference as consistently as PM Modi. Bihar 2025 is not an isolated result; it is part of a broader national pattern in which governance, welfare delivery, cultural pride, and personal credibility combine to produce repeated mandates.