The National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, moved quickly past the 160-seat mark as counting for the Bihar Assembly election 2025 crossed two hours. By 10.15 am, the NDA led in 162 seats. The opposition bloc, led by the RJD and Congress, trailed far behind with 77 seats.

Amit Shah’s Prediction Comes True

The NDA’s strong performance closely matched Home Minister Amit Shah’s earlier confidence. At the NDTV Bihar Power Play summit, he had declared, "The NDA will win 160 seats (and) form the government with two-thirds majority."

He repeated this prediction a week later, again telling NDTV that the NDA would cross 160 seats. Shah had also dismissed talk of disagreements within the five-party alliance. He insisted the group remained united.

"The way people are cheering for us... I feel the people of Bihar are with the NDA, the BJP... I will call this a fight by the five Pandavas because all five constituent parties (i.e., JDU, BJP, LJP, HAM, and RLM) are united... without any dispute."

Exit Polls Proved Accurate

Exit polls had already shown a clear edge for the NDA. All 13 exit polls studied by NDTV pointed to a comfortable win for the Nitish Kumar-led alliance. Some predicted a tougher fight, but none gave the Mahagathbandhan an advantage.

Once counting began, those predictions quickly held true. The NDA gained an early lead and steadily widened it, tightening its grip on the race as the morning progressed.

Nitish Kumar’s Big Comeback

However, the election story is not just about the NDA’s overall strength. It is also about Nitish Kumar’s political comeback.

In 2020, the JDU slipped to a smaller role within the alliance. It won only 43 seats, while the BJP secured 74. This time, the balance appears to be shifting. The JDU is on track to win 74 seats, restoring its earlier dominance within the coalition.

RJD Falls Behind

Another major development is the steep fall of the RJD. In 2020, it emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, even edging past the BJP by one seat.

This year, the party seems set to lose that position. Early trends show it far behind both the BJP and JDU.