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JDU, BJP make NDA shine in Bihar election results. Will Nitish Kumar be CM again?

Bihar election results 2025: According to the Election Commission of India's trends, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) was leading in over 70 seats. 

Published on: Nov 14, 2025, 12:21:42 IST
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Nitish Kumar's JDU and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made the NDA gain a massive lead in trends, putting up an unbeatable performance against the Mahagathbandhan in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. The Janata Dal (United) was leading in 76 seats as per the Election Commission's trends at 12 pm on Friday.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is seeking re-election on the legacy of Nitish Kumar's 20-year-long rule in Bihar. (ANI)
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is seeking re-election on the legacy of Nitish Kumar's 20-year-long rule in Bihar. (ANI)

In addition to JD(U), the party's ally in NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party, also seemed to be faring very well in the polls.

The National Democratic Alliance – comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United), primarily, along with the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha – was well above the majority mark of 122 seats, as per the 12 pm trends of the ECI. Follow Bihar election results 2025 LIVE updates

The growing suggestive figures that the NDA might return to power in Bihar also created a buzz over whether JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar will return as the state's chief minister, adding another term to his 20-year-old rule.

ALSO READ | Bihar: The Indomitable Nitish Kumar

Leads of NDA parties at 12 pm

  • Janata Dal (United): 76
  • Bharatiya Janata Party: 87
  • Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas): 19
  • Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular): 4
  • Rashtriya Lok Morcha: 3

Exit polls also sided with NDA

The exit poll projections, which were released over the span of two days – Tuesday and Wednesday – following the conclusion of second and final phase of voting for the Bihar assembly elections 2025 on November 11. Follow Raghopur election results LIVE

Most pollsters projected a clear win for the BJP-JDU-led NDA, with seats ranging between 121-209, while the Mahagathbandhan had a forecast of following the NDA at a distant second shadow position with a range of 32-118 seats.

ALSO READ | Bihar exit poll results: NDA's return or a Mahagathbandhan twist? What 11 pollsters predict

Axis My India was the only pollster who projected a tough fight between NDA and the Mahagathbandhan in the Bihar assembly elections. The pollster forecast 121-141 seats for NDA, while giving Mahagathbandhan 98-118 seats.

But is Nitish the preferred CM?

Having learned the exit poll projections for parties and their alliances, it came as a shocker that Nitish Kumar did not emerge as the preferred chief minister in the pollsters' survey.

Only Peoples Pulse and Axis My India had carried out a survey for the preferred CM in Bihar and both of them were led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav.

According to Axis My India, 34 per cent of people opted for Tejashwi Yadav as the CM choice, while only 22 per cent preferred Nitish Kumar. The survey from Peoples Pulse, on the other hand, indicated that 32 per cent preference rate was with Tejashwi, while Nitish had 30 per cent popularity.

  • Asmita Ravi Shankar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Asmita Ravi Shankar

    Asmita Ravi Shankar is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi. She covers breaking news and focuses on crime, geopolitics, and the domestic political landscape. She has an eye for the intricacies in criminal investigations and a keen interest in how diplomacy and complexities affect politics, within India and globally. She has written extensively about Operation Sindoor, the Iran-US conflict, elections in India, Trump tariffs and diplomacy. Asmita also engages in multimedia storytelling, using interactive elements to enhance readers' news experience and build a high-traffic news ecosystem. With nearly three years of experience in the journalism industry, Asmita has been with HT for a little over a year. She has previously worked with online news teams at Outlook India and Network18, covering a wide range of beats and building her specialisation. In HT, she has been recognised for her comprehensive reportage and her contribution to coverage of the Bihar assembly election results, having single-handedly driven over 2 million users on that day. Asmita earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, the University of Delhi. She went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in integrated journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, sharpening her skills in multimedia storytelling, editing and sourcing to enrich her reportage. Additionally, Asmita holds a degree in Bharatanatyam from the Pracheen Kala Kendra. She is also a teacher of the Indian classical dance form. When not working on news, Asmita can be found dancing, binge-watching true crime docu-series, cooking and exploring various genres of music.Read More

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