People of Bihar wait with bated breath for Friday's counting of votes polled in the recent assembly elections, which will decide whether Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, will get a record fifth term or whether a change in government will be witnessed.
"2005 se lekar aaj tak... logon ne dekha hai kaun sarkar chalata hai aur kaun sirf hawa banata hai, (From 2005 till today, people know who actually governs and who just makes noise)," said Ramesh Yadav, a booth worker from Nalanda who claimed he had attended every JD-U celebration since Nitish's debut win.
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised a defence corridor and factories in each district of Bihar if the NDA wins the upcoming elections. He also outlined plans for flood control, infrastructure development, and revival of sugar mills.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
Will Nitish Kumar file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha on Thursday morning?
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar on Friday thanked people of the state for giving a 'landslide' victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the assembly polls.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said a two-thirds majority for the National Democratic Alliance in the 243-member Bihar assembly will be a fitting tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday on November 14, the day poll results will be announced.
Former JD(U) leader KC Tyagi has joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), citing shared ideologies with Chaudhary Charan Singh and Ram Manohar Lohia. He aims to strengthen the party and champion the cause of farmers.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, a former state Bharatiya Janata Party president, would be made 'big man' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the assembly polls.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA member, announced it will contest 153 seats in the upcoming Bihar elections after not being allocated any seats by the NDA. The party claims the BJP's Bihar unit provided a negative report regarding their strength.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will remain in the NDA, while regretting short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine. He lauded Modi for the Union government's measures for the state and highlighted recent state government initiatives.
Following a defeat in the Bihar elections, opposition parties in India are calling for introspection and course correction, with some criticizing the concentration of power within their ranks.
'Jan Suraaj Party was the BJP's 'B' team. It is proven now.' 'You have seen their performance and it proves that they only worked to dent Opposition votes by working for the BJP.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Bihar's 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana' on Friday and transfer Rs 10,000 each to the bank accounts of 75 lakh women across the state, totalling Rs 7,500 crore.
Bihar's opposition Mahagathbandhan is experiencing internal conflict following their defeat in the recent assembly elections. Congress leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with their alliance with the RJD, leading to a blame game and further disarray within the opposition camp.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav promised that if the INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar, it will ensure every family has a member with a government job, enacting legislation within 20 days of forming the government.
Aditaynath alleged that the Congress, RJD and SP were "embracing" criminals in Bihar and allowing infiltrators to compromise with the state's security.
The Voter Adhikar Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav before the Bihar Assembly polls, failed to deliver electoral gains for the Mahagathbandhan, with the NDA winning across its route.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
'Within the BJP, Samrat Chowdhury confronts a party full of senior leaders with their own factional networks, caste calculations and career ambitions; many of whom may regard his elevation as a product of central convenience rather than organic merit.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar praised the Narendra Modi government's support for the state's progress and urged voters to support the NDA in the upcoming assembly elections. He also criticized Lalu Prasad's governance and dynastic politics.
Chirag Paswan has warned the BJP-led NDA that it will settle for nothing less than 40-plus seats in the 2025 Bihar polls, even threatening to contest all 243 constituencies independently if sidelined.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
This election is a thank you note to Nitish Babu from a grateful Bihari people, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Tejashwi who is meeting senior Conngress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday is expected to be announced as the CM face of the Mahabgathbandhan on Thursday.
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
Kuswaha told reporters at the airport that "Everything will be fine. With this hope and belief, we are going to Delhi."
'...yet struggles to convert that human capital into domestic productivity.'
The most optimistic outcome was that of Matrize exit polls which predicted the NDA to win anywhere between 147 and 167 seats and the opposition Mahagathbandhan of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress party to bag 70-90 seats.
'The seats which we would be contesting have been identified. Respective candidates have also been finalised. Four non-performing sitting MLAs will be replaced with fresh faces.'
Unlike his National Democratic Alliance allies who rushed to the spotlight soon after the NDA won a historic mandate in the 2025 Bihar assembly election, Nitish Kumar stayed away from the public eye on Friday, November 14.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) expelled 16 leaders, including a sitting MLA and two former ministers, for anti-party activities ahead of the assembly elections. The expelled leaders were charged with violating the party's ideology and working against official NDA candidates.
Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, met with party leaders and allies to discuss the upcoming Bihar polls. Seat-sharing arrangements with NDA partners are expected to be announced soon.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United would have been bundled up with just 25 seats had his government not given Rs 10,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries in each constituency just before the assembly elections and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women across the state under self-employment initiatives.
Bihar is preparing for the counting of votes in the recent assembly elections, with political leaders reviewing preparations and expressing confidence in their respective alliances' prospects. Security measures are in place to ensure a smooth and transparent counting process.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances