The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has swept the Bihar Assembly elections with a massive win, securing 202 out of 243 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single-largest party. Its key ally, the Janata Dal (United), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, won 85 seats, marking its best performance since 2010. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) also made notable gains, bagging 19 seats. Together, the NDA crossed the 200-seat milestone, which leaders celebrated as a “double-century”.
On the other hand, the Opposition suffered a major setback. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) managed to win only 25 seats, barely above its worst-ever tally of 22 in 2010. Leader Tejashwi Yadav could not repeat the strong performance the party delivered in 2020. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, despite a high-profile and high-energy campaign, failed to win even a single seat.
The results are likely to worry the Opposition beyond just Bihar. The outcome comes ahead of major state elections next year, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry and Kerala, followed by a long list of key states going to polls in 2027.
The impact of this defeat will also be felt in the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Upper House are elected by MLAs, and with the NDA’s overwhelming majority in the Bihar Assembly, the alliance will now have a stronger position when two Rajya Sabha seats from the state fall vacant in 2026.
Currently, the RJD has five Rajya Sabha MPs from Bihar, but two of them, Prem Chand Gupta and AD Singh, are set to retire next year. With fewer MLAs, the Opposition will struggle to retain these seats.
A number of Bihar’s Rajya Sabha terms end in 2030, and since those elections will occur before the next Assembly polls in late 2030, the newly strengthened NDA will again have an advantage. This reduces the Opposition’s influence in the Upper House and limits its chances of sending more members from Bihar in the coming years.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
