Bihar elections 2025: BJP, JD(U) to contest 101 seats each, Chirag Paswan secures 29 for LJP

The BJP and Janata Dal (United) will contest an equal number of 101 seats each in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, marking the first time since 2005 that the BJP has achieved parity with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party in seat allocation — a stark indicator of the JD(U)’s waning influence within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP's in-charge for Bihar polls, announced the finalized NDA seat-sharing formula on Sunday as the party’s Central Election Committee, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, convened in New Delhi. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, secured 29 seats — more than initially anticipated — following protracted negotiations. 

Other NDA constituents received far smaller slices: the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), led by Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, headed by Upendra Kushwaha, will each contest six seats.

“This exercise has been completed in a cordial manner. Leaders and workers of all NDA parties welcome this with happiness. Bihar is ready for another NDA government,” Pradhan stated in a post on X.

Paswan and Kushwaha echoed support for the decision, although Manjhi — who earlier posted his unwavering loyalty to Modi “till my last breath” — publicly acknowledged dissatisfaction with his party's allocation. “I will accept the BJP leadership’s decision,” he told reporters, but warned that the undervaluation of his party “might have repercussions for the NDA.”

This shift in balance underscores the BJP’s strategic growth in Bihar. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it contested more seats than JD(U) for the first time. In the 2020 assembly polls, JD(U) had led with 115 seats to the BJP’s 110, while Paswan’s faction fought independently.

The 243-member Bihar Assembly will vote in two phases on November 6 and 11.

Meanwhile, the opposition Mahagathbandhan is expected to announce its seat-sharing and candidate list later this week. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh cited delays due to integration of new partners. “We expect all the seats to be finalised and declared in the next two-three days,” he said. In 2020, Congress contested 70 seats and won 19, while the RJD won 75 out of 144.