In a resounding endorsement of continuity and development, the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) achieved a historic landslide victory in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, securing 202 seats in the 243-member house—well beyond the majority mark of 122. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won around 91 seats, Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] around 84, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] around 19, and smaller allies like Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) added 9 more, reflecting a consolidated vote share surge to around 47% from 37.26% in 2020.

This triumph, fuelled by women’s welfare schemes and robust grassroots mobilisation, contrasts sharply with the Mahagathbandhan’s catastrophic rout, plummeting to just 34 seats—a fall from 110 in 2020. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) managed 25, Congress a dismal 6 (down from 19), CPI(ML) Liberation 2 (from 12), and others like CPI and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) barely managed 1 each, with their combined vote share stagnating at 37%.

This debacle underscores a profound disconnect: while the NDA amplified local aspirations, the opposition’s nationalised rhetoric alienated voters. At the centre stands Rahul Gandhi, whose ‘vote chori‘ (vote theft) narrative—framed around alleged Election Commission bias and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls—dominated the Mahagathbandhan’s campaign, forcing allies into a mismatched battle that eroded their micro-level strengths. As alliance fractures widen, Rahul Gandhi must bear primary responsibility for this self-inflicted collapse, having imposed a top-down agenda that Bihar’s electorate resoundingly rejected in favour of tangible governance.

Rahul Gandhi’s aggressive push to centre the Mahagathbandhan’s entire electoral strategy around his ‘vote chori‘ allegations—accusing a BJP-ECI........

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