Patna/Chandigarh, October 12, 2025: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has reached a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) contesting 101 seats each, Union Minister and BJP’s Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Sunday.
In a post on X, Pradhan said the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats, while the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha will each field candidates on six constituencies. “All partners of the NDA have completed the seat distribution exercise amicably. Leaders and workers of all NDA parties welcome this with happiness. Bihar is ready for another NDA government,” Pradhan said.
This is the first Assembly election since Nitish Kumar ended the 15-year RJD regime in 2005 in which the JD(U) will contest the same number of seats as the BJP, signalling the regional party’s waning influence and the BJP’s rising prominence within the alliance. The trend mirrors the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP fielded one more candidate than the JD(U).
Chirag Paswan, who secured a more favourable share than many expected, and Kushwaha welcomed the announcement, echoing Pradhan’s optimism. “This partnership will ensure continuity and progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” Paswan said.
Manjhi, whose party received fewer seats than he had publicly demanded, reiterated his loyalty to the Prime Minister. “I will remain committed to Modi ji till my last breath. Bihar will again have a Modi-Nitish government,” he said in an earlier post. Later speaking to reporters, he accepted the BJP’s decision but noted that his party “has been undervalued, which might have repercussions for the NDA.”
The deal followed several days of intense negotiations involving the BJP’s top leadership and its allies. While the JD(U) had finalised its seat distribution with the BJP earlier, other partners — particularly Paswan, Manjhi and Kushwaha — engaged in hard bargaining, with Paswan ultimately appearing to have prevailed.
Bihar’s 243-member Assembly will vote in two phases, on November 6 and 11. In the 2020 elections, the JD(U) contested 115 seats and the BJP 110, while Paswan’s party went solo after disagreements with Nitish Kumar. The NDA won 125 seats in that election, against the Mahagathbandhan’s 110.
Meanwhile, the opposition alliance — the Mahagathbandhan — is expected to finalise its seat-sharing arrangement in the coming days. Sources said discussions between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress are in their final stages, with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav currently in New Delhi for consultations.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the talks are taking time because the alliance is accommodating new partners. “We have to adjust some new partners in the Mahagathbandhan and finalise seat-sharing accordingly,” he told reporters. “In the next two to three days, we expect all seats to be finalised and declared.”
Asked about the number of seats the Congress may contest, Ramesh said, “Anything between half a century and a century.” In the last Assembly polls, Congress contested 70 seats and won 19, while the RJD fought on 144 and secured 75.
As both alliances firm up their strategies, Bihar is poised for a tightly contested electoral battle, marking another test of strength for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the ruling NDA.
