The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections have delivered several far-reaching political messages. The ruling NDA’s clear majority demonstrates that voters remain committed to Nitish Kumar’s clean image and development-oriented politics. Meanwhile, the RJD’s poor performance indicates that even its core MY (Muslim-Yadav) vote bank is eroding. While AIMIM’s five seats show that the party had made inroads into Muslim-majority areas, Bihar has once again rejected the Left’s toxic politics.
Left parties reached 3 seats through arithmetic
In this assembly election, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) won two seats, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won only one. In all three seats, the influence of independent candidates was played a more significant role than the Left’s ideology. The CPI (ML)(L) won the Karakat seat by 2,836 votes, against Jyoti Singh, wife of Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh, who was contesting independently, received 23,469 votes. The Left won the other two seats in a similar fashion, which means that if there had been a direct contest, the Left might not have won these seats.
When Bihar rejected RJD
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Bihar has rejected the Left parties or the RJD in this manner. After the RJD’s historic defeat in 2010, it was believed that Bihar rejected the party that fostered jungle raj. It seemed that the state had permanently distanced itself from the dark memory that had become a symbol of its backwardness. Nitish Kumar’s model of good governance further strengthened that public opinion. The RJD won only 22 seats in that election.
However, by 2015, thanks to Nitish Kumar’s political experiments, the RJD seemed to revive itself, and it returned to power with Nitish Kumar at its helm. The situation also appeared favorable for the RJD in the next election, but the main reason behind this was Chirag Paswan. Chirag Paswan was displeased with Nitish Kumar during the 2020 elections and fielded his own candidates in his constituencies. This benefitted the RJD, and the party returned to power once again. However, the collective seats of Congress-RJD were still not enough to bring them to power. Left parties also made a comeback in this election as the CPI (ML) (L) won 12 seats, and the CPI and CPI (M) each won two seats. This marked the return of the Left ideology, which had long been rejected by Bihar, and had now won 16 seats.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(ML)(L) won two seats in Bihar, signaling that the Left parties were once again gaining ground in Bihar. The CPI(ML) indicated that it still held ground in some parts of Bihar.
When the reviving oxygen provided by Chirag Paswan was taken away from the Left and RJD this time, their true worth was exposed. The people of Bihar once again wiped out the RJD and the Left parties. The people of Bihar expressed their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The way the NDA fought the elections putting up a united front dispelled any doubts voters might have had. The public gave a clear and unanimous mandate, and the Left parties were wiped out in this tsunami of votes.
The NDA now has the responsibility to ensure that the ‘poisonous vine’ does not grow again
The NDA now faces the challenge of honouring this public mandate. The people have not only established it as the ‘alternative’, but have also expressed their deep trust in them. This trust is based on the belief that the NDA will not take Bihar back to the old days of left-wing extremism, caste violence, criminal politics, and institutional weakness.
The NDA must also understand that it should avoid any political experiment that could re-empower leftist parties. This referendum is a vote of confidence to bury the past. This public opinion shows that the people of Bihar are trusting the NDA for their secure future. They are trusting PM Modi and Nitish Kumar.
The public has delivered its verdict by voting for stability and development. This verdict is not just in favour of the NDA, but in favour of a Bihar that wants to move forward, that wants to provide opportunities for its youth, and that, at any cost, refuses to return to an era of anarchy.
(This article is a translation of the original article published on OpIndia Hindi.)
