Afreen Manzoor
“Despite the health rumours and the mockery, voters chose continuity over spectacle. In a state shaped by caste equations and shifting loyalties, Nitish Kumar’s steady record spoke louder than campaign theatrics.”
— Nitish Kumar
The Bihar assembly elections of 2025 ended in a repeat of the 2024 Lok Sabha pattern, but on a bigger scale. The NDA pulled off a landslide with 202 seats out of 243 and around 46.6% vote share. The Mahagathbandhan trailed far behind at just 35 seats and 37.7% votes. Nitish Kumar became Chief Minister of Bihar for the 10th time.
How did the NDA manage this sweep when Nitish Kumar himself stayed mostly out of the spotlight during the campaign? Health talk dogged him throughout. Opposition voices, from Tejashwi Yadav to others, kept pointing out he looked tired, confused at times, or even unwell. Some called him Bihar’s “sleepy Joe” and questioned if he was fit to lead. Videos circulated showing him missing a beat on stage or seeming low on energy. Prashant Kishor went further, saying outright that Nitish wasn’t mentally or physically well enough for the job.
Yet, voters brushed it aside. Despite the murmurs, people trusted the man who’d been in power for two decades. They saw the roads that finally got built, electricity reaching remote spots, schools opening up, and safety for women improving after the old “Jungle Raj. Nitish’s charm lies in that steady record—bringing development bit by bit, without the flash. His government helped women especially, with cash schemes to start small businesses, cycles and uniforms for girl students, and JEEViKA self-help groups that turned into real support networks. Women backed him strong, just like in earlier polls. The NDA doubled down on this, campaigning on larger state-level issues: faster development, double-engine sarkar, and warnings against slipping back to the lawless years under Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi from 1990 to 2005. That message hit home with a big chunk of voters, women in particular.
The NDA’s ground game helped too. Long padyatra covered all 38 districts, talking jobs, education, and progress in villages, towns, cities. It wasn’t about posters or sky-blitzing with views that don’t count as votes. Bihar, the most populous state, has its own rules—caste, money, power, booth control, connections. But this time, voters cared more about the long record of work and welfare schemes than opposition criticisms or health rumours.
What went wrong for Prashant Kishore and Jan Suraaj? The new party, born in 2024, aimed to shake up tired politics. Kishore walked the ground hard, padyatras drawing crowds, slogans on jobs, education, and ending caste-money games. He treated the election like a start-up pitch—eyeballs for investors, grabbing attention for a customer base. But it flopped badly. Zero seats despite contesting nearly all. Votes hovered around 3%, better than some old outfits but nowhere near power. He lacked deep organizational base, local support, trust from the common man. No big Yadav or Muslim backing, no proximity to power lines. Voters asked in villages: “Who leads this guy here—BJP flag or what?” Going solo felt like political suicide in Bihar’s setup. His constructive manifesto and action plan needed time for grassroots trust to build. As he said later, he takes 100% responsibility—no harm admitting failure, but it dented the NDA and Mahagathbandhan a bit without winning anything.
Looking ahead, coalition politics in the Hindi heartland seems NDA-centric. Regional players who are without deep roots or alliances are going to struggle . New challengers like Jan Suraaj flop without booth-level hold. It’s maturing into a more pragmatic, BJP-led model where loyalty and performance trump frequent somersaults. Survival means aligning tightly with BJP or facing the risk. Bihar’s own way—caste-money-power—still exists, but voters showed they prioritize results over noise. Nitish’s slow, steady approach won out again, health talk or not. For 2026 state polls elsewhere, the tone is set: tougher battles, but NDA holds the edge in these belts.
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