2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly election

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All243 seats in theBihar Legislative Assembly 122 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	74,355,976 ( 3.5%)[1]
Turnout	67.25%[2] ( 9.96pp)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Samrat Choudhary Nitish Kumar Tejashwi Yadav Party BJP JD(U) RJD Alliance NDA NDA MGB Leader since 2024 2005 2017 Leader's seat Tarapur(Won) MLC (did not contest) Raghopur(Won) Last election 19.46%, 74 seats 15.39%, 43 seats 23.11%, 75 seats Seats won 89 85 25 Seat change 15 42 50 Popular vote 10,081,143 9,667,118 11,546,055 Percentage 20.08% 19.25% 23.00% Swing 0.62pp 3.86pp 0.11pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   AIMIM Leader Chirag Paswan Rajesh Kumar Akhtarul Iman Party LJP(RV) INC AIMIM Alliance NDA MGB GDA Leader since 2021 2025 2015 Leader's seat Did not contest Kutumba (lost) Amour(Won) Last election New Party 9.48%, 19 seats 1.24%, 5 seats Seats won 19 6 5 Seat change 19 13 Popular vote 2,497,358 4,374,579 930,504 Percentage 4.97% 8.71% 1.85% Swing 4.97pp 0.77pp 0.19pp
Partywise results by constituency Alliance-wise results by constituency
Partywise structure Alliance-wise structure
Chief Minister before election Nitish Kumar JD(U) ElectedChief Minister Nitish Kumar JD(U)

Legislative Assembly elections were held inBihar from 6 to 11 November 2025, to elect the243 members of theBihar Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 14 November 2025.

TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ledNational Democratic Alliance (NDA) won alandslide victory securing 202 of the 243 seats in which the election was held, defeating theRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-ledMahagathbandhan (MGB) which secured just 35 seats. Incumbentchief ministerNitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Incumbentdeputy chief ministersSamrat Chaudhary andVijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time.

For the first time, the BJP became the single largest party in Bihar assembly. The RJD, led byTejashwi Yadav, fell to third for the first time since2010, while Kumar'sJanata Dal (United) recorded its best result since 2010. TheIndian National Congress (INC) fared poorly in the election, while theLok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) andRashtriya Lok Morcha secured seats for the first time.

The tenure ofBihar Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 22 November 2025.^[3] Theprevious assembly elections were held in October–November 2020. After the election, theNational Democratic Alliance formed thestate government, withNitish Kumar becomingChief Minister.^[4]

On 9 August 2022, theJD(U) ended its alliance with theBJP andNitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister.^[5] On 10 August 2022, JD(U) joined theMahagathbandhan alliance with theRJD and theINC, with Nitish Kumar again taking oath as Chief Minister of the state.^[6]

In January 2024, the JD(U) ended its alliance with Mahagathbandhan and Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister.^[7] He formed the new government with BJP-ledNDA and was sworn in as the Chief Minister again.^[8]

TheElection Commission of India announced the schedule for the Bihar Legislative Assembly election on 6 October 2025.^[9]

National Democratic Alliance
Party[10]		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested[11]
	Bharatiya Janata Party			Samrat Choudhary	101[12][13][14]
	Janata Dal (United)			Nitish Kumar	101[15][16]
	Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)			Chirag Paswan	28[17][a]
	Hindustani Awam Morcha			Jitan Ram Manjhi	6[19]
	Rashtriya Lok Morcha			Upendra Kushwaha	6[20]
	Independent			Ankit Kumar	1[b]
Total					243

On 23 October 2025,Tejashwi Yadav was announced as the Chief Ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan for the election,^[22][23] withMukesh Sahani being the Deputy CM face.^[24][25]

Mahagathbandhan
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested[11]
	Rashtriya Janata Dal			Tejashwi Yadav	143[26][a][b]
	Indian National Congress			Rajesh Kumar	61[30][31][32][33][34][35]
	Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation			Mahbub Alam[36]	20[37]
	Vikassheel Insaan Party			Mukesh Sahani	12[38][39][c][d]
	Communist Party of India			Ram Naresh Pandey[42]	9[43][44][11]
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)			Ajay Kumar Kushwaha[45]	4[11]
	Indian Inclusive Party			Indrajeet Prasad Gupta[46]	3[11]
	Janshakti Janata Dal			Shyam Kishore Chaudhary	1[e]
	Independent				2[f][d]
Total					243[g]

Grand Democratic Alliance[51][52]
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested
	All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen			Akhtarul Iman[53]	28[11][54]
	Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party			Pashupati Kumar Paras	36[11][55]
	Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)			Jauhar Azad[56]	18[11]
	Apni Janata Party			Swami Prasad Maurya	3[11]
Total					79

Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested
	Jan Suraaj Party			Prashant Kishor	238[57][11]
	Bahujan Samaj Party			Shankar Mahato[58]	181[11]
	Aam Aadmi Party			Rakesh Yadav[59]	83[11][60][61][62][63]
	Janshakti Janata Dal			Tej Pratap Yadav	45[11][a]

A total of2,616 candidates were contesting for the243 assembly seats in the election.^[64][65]

The campaign centered on a mix of local and socio-economic issues. Unemployment and migration were prominent themes: parties noted that many Bihar youth migrate out of state for work, and competing manifestos promised large-scale job creation.^[68] Caste politics also remained a key factor. All major parties pledged to support a new caste census and "social justice" measures, reflecting widespread calls to address the state's caste-based inequalities.^[69] Corruption and governance were attacked by the opposition; for example, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the Nitish Kumar government of "institutionalising corruption" and misusing government schemes (like a women's outreach programme) for electioneering.^[70] The ruling alliance countered by criticizing the RJD's past ("jungle raj") and highlighting its own welfare record. A major flashpoint was the voter roll revision (Special Intensive Revision, SIR) carried out by the Election Commission. Opposition parties claimed the intensive revision was a partisan tool, alleging mass deletions of voters and promising protests or even an election boycott.^[71]

• NDA (BJP, JD(U), LJP(R), RLM, HAM(S)): The ruling coalition ran on a platform of development and social welfare. It emphasized caste-based outreach and welfare delivery, and frequently invoked Prime Minister Modi's leadership. The BJP also attacked the RJD over law and order and historic scams, while JD(U) emphasized Nitish Kumar's governance. Seat-sharing talks between BJP and JD(U) indicated a near-equal division.
• RJD (leadingMahagathbandhan): The RJD centered its campaign on employment, youth issues, and anti-incumbency. Tejashwi Yadav pledged massive job creation and ran a digital-heavy campaign, including AI-generated videos and memes. The RJD organized backward caste meetings and positioned itself as the party of Dalits, OBCs, and the poor.^[72]
• Jan Suraaj Party: Led byPrashant Kishor, Jan Suraaj positioned itself as an alternative to both NDA and the INDIA bloc. Kishor organized theBihar Badlav Yatra, pledged to contest all 243 seats, and focused on governance, education, and clean politics. Between October 2022 and October 2024, he undertookpadayatra across Bihar, walking over 5,000 km and visiting more than 5,500 villages to engage with local communities directly.^[73][74] At the party's launch, Kishor announced provisions such as candidate selection throughUS-style primaries, theright to recall legislators who fail to perform, and a pledge that 90% of candidates would be first-time contestants.^[75][76]
• Congress: As a partner in theMahagathbandhan, the Congress highlighted youth migration and unemployment, notably through leaderKanhaiya Kumar's padyatra. Rahul Gandhi planned a multi-day campaign tour of Bihar in August 2025, criticizing voter list issues and advocating electoral reforms.^[77][78]

Bihar faces a severe unemployment crisis, particularly among youth and educated graduates. Many young Biharis are forced to migrate to other states for work due to lack of opportunities. Both the ruling NDA and opposition Mahagathbandhan had made job creation and youth empowerment key promises, with pledges such as government jobs for every household, skill centers, and massive investment packages.^[79][80]

Allegations of voter roll manipulation were made by the oppositionMahagathbandhan. The Election Commission carried out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), resulting in mass deletions of over six million names of people, who had died, migrated out of the state or were duplicates, from the electoral rolls. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had accused the government and Election Commission of allegedly stealing votes.^{[81][82][83][84]} While theNDA defended the SIR as necessary to ensure accurate electoral rolls by removing dead voter's names, ineligible voters and voters who have moved out of the state.^[85][86]

Driven by lack of employment, lakhs of Bihari youth migrate to other states each year. Both camps have made migration a major talking point, linking it directly to economic stagnation and poor governance.^[87]

Corruption continues to be a significant issue in Bihar’s governance. It hampers development and the effective implementation of welfare programs. Allegations include bribery, favoritism, and financial mismanagement in various sectors such as public distribution, infrastructure projects, and government recruitment. The prevalence of corruption undermines public confidence in political leadership.^[88]

Despite various government efforts, Bihar remains underdeveloped in critical areas like infrastructure, healthcare, and education. Many rural areas lack access to adequate roads, electricity, hospitals, and schools. These shortcomings are persistent voter concerns influencing election outcomes.^[89][90]

Law and order problems, including caste-based violence, crime rates, and political intimidation, affect public safety. Improving policing and justice systems was a key election promise by competing parties.^[91][92]

On 24 June 2025, the Election Commission (EC) notified that it will conduct a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar before the elections. The exercise requires all the voters from the state to fill forms to be included in the voter list. People whose names were not in the 2003 voter lists need to provide additional documents. The notification also mentioned that the documents needed to be submitted within a month (with 25 July being the deadline).

Further, the voters need to provide one of the eleven documents mandated by the EC, with the common documents such as theAadhaar card, voter ID card and ration cards, not included as valid documents. A significant number of people in Bihar do not have any of the 11 documents. Furthermore, a significant population of the state migrate in other parts of India for work or study and it is estimated that at least 75 lakh (7.5 million) people from Bihar migrate to other parts of India.^[93] Critics have argued it would be difficult for such voters to be a part of this exercise. Such factors have led to fears of mass exclusion of voters. Opposition parties – such as theINDIA alliance – alleged that such an exercise will favor the rulingNDA alliance. The Election Commission denied these allegations and claimed that the exercise is lawful and constitutional.^{[94][95][96][93]}

The SIR was challenged in the Supreme Court. On 10 July, the court advised the Election Commission to consider the Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration cards as valid documents for the exercise.^[97] On 21 July, the Election Commission responded by saying that it will not accept the Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration cards as valid documents, as suggested by the Supreme Court.^[98]

In August, Tejashwi Yadav,leader of the opposition of Bihar, alleged his name was removed from the voter list after the SIR exercise, however his name did appear in the list after checking. TheElection commission dismissed the allegations as factually incorrect^[99] and declared the EPIC number shown by him to the media was fake. The poll body asked him to submit the fake voter ID card to the ECI office by 16 August 2025.^[100]

In August 2025, Rahul Gandhi made allegations against BJP about election commission.^[101][102] TheECI dismissed the allegations as misleading,^[103][104] and asked him to submit the allegations under oath or apologise to the nation.^[105]

Ahead of the elections, two doctored videos falsely showing Indian Army officials criticising tri-military "Trishul 2025" exercises as a political stunt were circulated widely onX. Fact-checks by iVerify and Indian media established that the viral videos were fabricated using dubbed or synthetic audio to spread misinformation.^{[106][107][108][109]}

The exit polls were declared on 11 November 2025.^[111][112]

Source^[116]

Alliance/ Party				Popular vote			Seats			Won of Contested
				Votes	%	±pp	Contested	Won	+/−	%
	NDA		BJP	10,081,143	20.08	0.62	101	89	15	88.1
			JD(U)	9,667,118	19.25	3.86	101	85	42	84.2
			LJP(RV)	2,497,358	4.97		28	19	19	67.9
			HAM(S)	587,056	1.17	0.28	6	5	1	83.3
			RLM	533,313	1.06		6	4	4	66.7
			Ind	17,310	0.03		1	0
		Total		23,383,298	46.56	9.30	243	202	81	83.1
	MGB		RJD	11,546,055	23.00	0.11	143	25	50	17.5
			INC	4,374,579	8.71	0.77	61	6	13	9.8
			CPI(ML)L	1,425,592	2.84	0.31	20	2	10	10.0
			VIP	689,484	1.37	0.15	12	0	4	0.0
			CPI	372,458	0.74	0.09	9	0	2	0.0
			CPI(M)	302,974	0.61	0.04	4	1	1	25.0
			IIP	184,679	0.37		3	1	1	33.3
			JJD	40,684	0.08		1	0
			Ind	106,782	0.21		2	0
		Total		18,589,587	37.93		243	35	80	14.4
	GDA		AIMIM	930,504	1.85	0.19	28	5		20.0
			RLJP	85,724	0.17		36	0		0.0
		Total		1,016,228	2.02		64	5		6.3
	JSP			1,677,583	3.34		238	0		0.0
	BSP			813,553	1.62	0.13	181	1		0.6
	Others			3,816,754	6.72					0.0
	NOTA			910,730	1.81	0.13
Total				50,207,733	100%	—	2,616	243	—