Mission Modi a superhit

NEW DELHI: The Modi–Shah team's 'Mission Pataliputra' is moving closer to success, with the BJP achieving a near three-digit tally in Bihar- a sign of the party’s growing strength. This marks the NDA’s fourth election victory since the 2024 General Election. Except in Jharkhand, the BJP has delivered strong performances in all major state elections. The party retained power in Haryana, overtook the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, and scored a sweet victory in Delhi by defeating Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party after a decade-long struggle. The Bihar win now adds a finishing touch to the party’s achievements in 2025.

Just as it outperformed the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the BJP has now pushed the JD(U) to second place in Bihar. However, because of coalition compulsions at the Centre, the party cannot drop the JD(U). Therefore, it has no other choice but to let Nitish Kumar continue as Chief Minister once again. The lack of strong local leadership remains an issue in the state. Even so, the momentum created by Modi’s influence will give the BJP a dominant position in the government.

In 2013, Nitish Kumar had left the NDA protesting against the BJP's decision to name Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. But he was later brought back into the alliance with a focus on maintaining the BJP’s hold in Bihar. In 2020, Chirag Paswan’s LJP, which had contested separately earlier, was brought to the front and allotted 29 seats to prevent vote splitting. Chirag rose sharply from winning just one seat to securing 19 this time.

Modi leads from front

Leading from the front, Narendra Modi highlighted the law-and-order issues during the Lalu Prasad–Rabri Devi era under the “Jungle Raj” slogan and accused the RJD and Congress of encouraging migration. He conducted seven district rallies, listing out the development projects completed under his government. Massive development programs and welfare initiatives were launched and inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself. Key BJP leaders such as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, along with Chief Ministers from other states, joined the campaign. The Bihar win is expected to energise the party for next year’s elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam.

BJP’s performance in Bihar over the years:
1995 – 41 seats,
2000 – 41 seats,
2005 – 55 seats,
2010 – 91 seats,
2015 – 53 seats,
2020 – 74 seats,
2025 – 90 seats.