Women and caste unity gave NDA a landslide in Bihar

The Bihar verdict of 2025 ultimately reflects a clash between two political cultures: the NDA's disciplined, data-driven, cohesive structure versus the MGB's chaotic, personality-driven, fragmented approach.

- SAVIO RODRIGUES

The 2025 Bihar Assembly election delivered one of the most decisive mandates in the state's history, propelling the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a sweeping victory and reducing the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) to a marginal political presence.

The NDA crossed the majority mark with 202 seats, while the MGB collapsed to 34 and AIMIM secured 5. Beyond the headline numbers, this verdict reflects a deeper story of strategic brilliance, disciplined alliance management, and unmatched vote conversion by the NDA, contrasted sharply with the MGB's electoral incoherence and organisational breakdown.

At the heart of the NDA's success was the strategic inclusion of Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). This single decision had a transformative impact on the election. In 2020, LJP fought independently and cut into NDA votes, costing the alliance dozens of seats. In 2025, however, LJP(RV) was integrated smoothly into the NDA framework, converting a previously adversarial force into an electoral asset. Chirag Paswan's appeal among Dalit communities, especially Paswan voters, combined with his personal brand of youthful assertiveness, helped consolidate the pro-NDA mood and translate it into actual victories on the ground. This consolidation ensured that no anti-NDA vote leakage occurred in constituencies where the margins historically remained narrow. What could have been a liability turned into a vote-converting engine, amplifying the NDA's reach across central and northern Bihar.