Bihar 2025: Nitish & BJP Take Early Lead, Tejashwi’s MGB Playing Catch-Up

Bihar began counting votes for all 243 Assembly seats on Friday amid tight security, and early trends indicate a strong lead for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

By 10:00 am, the NDA was ahead in 159 constituencies, comfortably surpassing the halfway mark of 122, while the Mahagathbandhan lagged at 76 seats.

Within the NDA, the BJP was leading in 69 seats, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) held the lead in 67 constituencies. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) showed a modest lead in 14 seats with a conversion rate of 53%. JD(U) maintained a strong 70% conversion rate, while BJP stood at 67%.

On the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) side, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), led by Tejashwi Yadav, was ahead in 51 seats with a 38% conversion rate. Its allies struggled to make a significant impact, with Congress leading in 17 constituencies and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation ahead in five. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj led in two seats, while AIMIM showed a lead in one.

Prominent leaders faced mixed fortunes in the early rounds. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha trailed in Lakhisarai, BJP’s Mangal Pandey was behind in Siwan, while JD(U)’s Sunil Kumar held a lead in Bhorey.

Counting began at 8 am, with postal ballots being tallied first, followed by EVM votes from 8:30 am. Authorities have set up 4,372 counting tables and deployed over 18,000 counting agents to ensure a smooth process. While most exit polls had projected a comfortable victory for the NDA, some had predicted a possible comeback for the Mahagathbandhan.

The 2025 Bihar Assembly polls mark another chapter in the state’s political saga. In 2020, the NDA had secured 125 seats, with Nitish Kumar returning as Chief Minister. In August 2022, he briefly joined hands with the RJD-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan, only to return to the NDA in January 2024 ahead of the parliamentary elections.

Looking at past trends, the BJP improved its tally between the 2015 and 2020 elections, while the RJD maintained a strong performance across both polls. JD(U), however, witnessed a decline over the last two elections, and Congress has seen a steady drop in its seat share.

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