Bihar Vidhan Sabha Chunav: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance is upbeat with its recent victories in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. With no other assembly elections around, the focus has now shifted to the Bihar assembly elections to be held in November this year. Bihar is all set to witness a strong fight where Nitish Kumar will look to assert his dominance while the BJP may look for a larger share of seats. The same goes for Congress. The grand old party may push the RJD to give more seats to it compared to the 2020 polls.
While Rahul Gandhi made two visits to the state in the last three weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the state on February 24 to inaugurate some development projects. This will be Modi’s first visit to the state this year. The last time PM Modi visited the state was in November 2024. During the upcoming visit, PM Modi is expected to release a new instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the NDA’s popular scheme among farmers.
While the NDA has set a target of winning 225 of the 243 seats in Bihar, the result will depend on who builds a better narrative and fields candidates as per caste equations.
Both the JD(U) and RJD have been actively preparing for upcoming elections. Nitish Kumar initiated the ‘Pragati Yatra’ on December 23 last year, aiming to tour the entire state in phases. Additionally, he has launched targeted outreach programs such as the ‘Nari Shakti Rath Yatra’ for women and the ‘Karpoori Rath Yatra’ for the extremely backward classes, who are considered his core support base.
The NDA has gained momentum, driven by the BJP’s resurgence, significant allocations for Bihar in the Union Budget, and setbacks faced by the Mahagathbandhan due to the INDIA bloc’s internal challenges.
In the previous Union Budget, the Centre allocated nearly Rs 70,000 crore for infrastructure, power, and flood mitigation projects in Bihar. This year, the Modi government announced the establishment of a Makhana Board to promote the food processing industry and a Kosi Canal project to address flood-related issues.
Meanwhile, the RJD has also intensified its presence on the ground. Tejashwi Yadav, officially declared as his successor by RJD founder Lalu Prasad, has been actively touring Assembly constituencies, engaging with party workers, and presenting the party’s promises through an initiative called ‘Karyakarta Darshan Sah Samwad Karyakram’.
The RJD has already promised the ‘Mai Bahin Maan Yojana’, which promises monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,500 to women from economically weaker sections. Additionally, the party is advocating 200 units of free electricity, similar to what the Aam Aadmi Party previously implemented in Delhi, along with an increase in pensions for senior citizens. The Congress, on the other hand, has also been staging various protests agains the state and central government across the state.
Alongside, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj has also made a significant inroads in the state and managed to bag around 10% votes in the recently concluded bypolls. If this trend continues, Jan Suraaj may emerge as a key challenger to the Mahagathbandha-led by RJD and the NDA as well.
The 2020 Bihar Assembly election results serve as a crucial reference point. The JD(U) managed to secure only 43 seats out of the 115 it contested, while the BJP won 74 of the 110 seats it fought for, emerging as the dominant force. The Congress fared poorly, winning just 19 out of 70 seats, whereas the RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 80 victories out of 144 seats it contested.
