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The Bihar Assembly election results of 2025 have delivered a deeply altered political landscape, driven in large part by a historic voter turnout. Women outvoted men by a significant margin this year, pushing overall polling to 71.6%, the highest in recent cycles. Their strong participation appears to have reshaped the fortunes of the ruling coalition.
The 2020 election results led the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as the single largest party with 75 seats and 23.11% of the vote share. The BJP followed closely with 74 seats and 19.46%, while the JD(U) secured 43 seats with 15.39%. The Congress finished far behind with 19 seats, accounting for 9.48% of the vote.
However, the picture looks markedly different in the ongoing 2025 count. The BJP, which was the second-largest force in 2020, is on course to become the biggest party in Bihar, leading in 93 seats. The JD(U) is tracking a strong second place with leads in 84 constituencies, a remarkable climb from its 2020 tally. The shift signals a clear consolidation of support for the NDA.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is also witnessing its strongest showing in years. Under Chirag Paswan’s leadership, the party is leading in 21 of the 29 seats it contested, an impressive performance considering its struggles in the previous election.
For the RJD, the results so far mark a steep decline. Once the dominant party in the State and the largest in 2020, it is currently ahead in just 27 seats. The collapse of the previous RJD-JD(U) government and Nitish Kumar’s return to the NDA fold seems to have altered the political momentum decisively.
The Congress, too, finds itself in a deep slump. After winning 19 seats in 2020, the national party has failed to reach even double digits this time and is currently leading in only five seats.
AIMIM, meanwhile, is performing consistently with its earlier outings, maintaining leads in five seats.
Much of the NDA’s surge is being attributed to its targeted welfare outreach, particularly among women. Chief among these measures is the Dus Hazari scheme, which offers a ₹10,000 cash benefit to women across the State.
The programme has been credited with cementing the support of women voters, a constituency that has become central to Bihar’s electoral politics.
With 35 million women forming half of the electorate, their impact is unmistakable. According to Election Commission data, women outvoted men by 8.8 percentage points in this election, with 4.4 million more women casting their ballots compared to 2020.
As counting moves towards its final stages, the early trends suggest that the 2025 Bihar verdict is being shaped not just by alliances and candidates, but by a decisive and unprecedented wave of women voters who have emerged as the State’s most influential political force.
