The Election Commission has released the final results of the Bihar Assembly polls, confirming a sweeping victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which secured 202 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) managed 35. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the new Assembly.

Following the results, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) issued its first reaction after what it described as a “crushing defeat”. In a post on X, the party said: “Public service is an unceasing process, an endless journey! Ups and downs are inevitable in it. No sorrow in defeat, no arrogance in victory! The Rashtriya Janata Dal is the party of the poor, it will continue to raise their voice among the poor!”

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh dismissed speculation around the Chief Minister’s post, stating: “There is no vacancy for the Chief Ministerial post. The people of Bihar have given an overwhelming mandate for development under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.” He added that the Mahagathbandhan’s defeat was “inevitable” due to what he described as a lack of leadership.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal questioned the integrity of the electoral process, calling the result “unbelievable” and alleging that the Election Commission had been “totally one-sided”. He said the party was gathering data and would present “concrete proof” within one to two weeks.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, arrived at party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to assess the defeat. Gandhi later said the election had been “unfair from the beginning”, adding: “This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress Party and the INDIA alliance will deeply review this result and make their efforts to save democracy even more effective.”

A significant factor behind the NDA’s strong performance was the support of women voters. Women recorded an impressive 71.6% turnout, surpassing the 62.8% turnout among men. Since 2005, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has focused on policies aimed at women—from bicycle schemes and job reservations to the Jeevika self-help groups. The recent Rs 10,000 cash transfer to more than 1.5 crore women appears to have further strengthened this support base.

In Alinagar, Darbhanga, the BJP’s decision to field folk singer Maithili Thakur initially faced internal resistance. Home Minister Amit Shah intervened personally to placate dissenting party members, ultimately clearing the path for Thakur’s win in what had been considered a challenging seat for the BJP.

With the NDA’s decisive mandate and the BJP’s position as the largest party, Nitish Kumar is set to continue steering Bihar’s development agenda, which Singh said would proceed at the same pace under the new government.