Bihar Election Result 2025: The 2025 Bihar election had a strong voter turnout of 60.40%, one of the highest in recent years. Political analysts are already speculating about the implications for the ruling NDA. Traditionally, higher turnout in Bihar demonstrates a strong wave of either support for change or an increased sense of loyalty toward the government.
The NDA confidently led the campaign on their record of development and promises of welfare. The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) centred the campaign on unemployment, price rise, and rural distress — issues that resonate strongly with Bihar’s youth and first-time voters.
So does the uptick in voter participation send a silent message to the NDA?
Historically, Bihar elections indicate that higher voter participation often benefits opposition parties. For example, in 2015, when the Mahagathbandhan surprised everyone with an election win, polls predicted an advantage for NDA allies. Analysts suspect the same trend might repeat if some level of anti-incumbency has amassed below the surface at the grass-roots level.
However, the NDA remains optimistic and argues that the voter turnout reflects strong mobilisation in their favour — especially among women voters and citizens who were beneficiaries of central government schemes such as Ujjwala Yojana and PM Awas Yojana.
5 Times Exit Polls Completely Missed the Mark
Exit polls are often not credible, and Indian political history is a testament to this. Here are five examples where they were wildly wrong:
- Bihar 2015: Exit polls were largely optimistic that the NDA would win, but the Mahagathbandhan, led by Nitish Kumar, won decisively, claiming two-thirds of the seats.
- Delhi 2020: Exit polls vastly underestimated AAP’s strength in the Delhi assembly elections; despite many predictions of a “tight race”, AAP won 62 of 70 seats.
- West Bengal 2021: Most exit polls believed that there was going to be a tight contest between the TMC and BJP, but the results showed a massive TMC mandate that smashed the BJP.
- Uttar Pradesh 2007: It was an election that surprised everyone. No exit poll outlet imagined that Mayawati’s BSP would have a simple majority on their own, something that hadn’t been accomplished in decades, if ever.
- Karnataka 2023: Some exit poll numbers suggested that there might be a hung assembly, but a super comfortable Congress majority.
These instances illustrate just how inexplicable India’s electorate is, and why so much of the counting tends to unwind in polarisation or arithmetic.
As we get closer to counting day, all eyes are on EVMs. NDA is hopeful that the gamble can reaffirm their one more time, while the opposition is counting (and hoping) that the silent displeasure can turn into power at the ballot.
