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New Delhi: In one of the most fiercely contested elections in Bihar’s recent political history, the Bharatiya Janata Party （BJP） is emerging as the single largest party, with early trends from the Election Commission of India showing the National Democratic Alliance （NDA） leading in around 200 seats, well above the majority mark of 122. The BJP alone is ahead in 94 constituencies, signalling a historic win for the party in Bihar in the last 45 years. The numbers mark a striking shift in Bihar’s political trajectory when viewed against previous election cycles. In the 2010 Assembly elections, the NDA—then driven by the formidable JDU-BJP partnership—had delivered a landslide, sweeping 206 of 243 seats, with JD（U） winning 115 and BJP 91. The picture changed dramatically in 2015, when the BJP was reduced to 53 seats, following the formation of the Mahagathbandhan （MGB） led by Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and the Congress. The 2020 Assembly elections produced the closest contest in over a decade. The NDA scraped through with 125 seats, barely above the majority mark, while the MGB secured 110. The RJD had emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, followed closely by the BJP at 74. The JD（U） declined to 43. However, the 2025 trends indicate a dramatic reversal of that pattern: the BJP has not only reclaimed its lost ground but also appears poised to dominate the landscape, overtaking the RJD and even its long-time ally, the JD（U）, by a wide margin. Notably, the BJP won 37 seats in 2005, 67 seats in 2000, 41 seats in 1995, 39 seats in 1990, 16 seats in 1985, and 21 seats in 1980. If the leads hold, Friday’s results could mark the BJP’s most decisive standalone performance ever in Bihar’s electoral history—reshaping equations within the NDA and setting the stage for a fresh political chapter in the state. IANS |
