NDA Bihar Seat Sharing Reveals Power Shift: BJP-JDU Parity and Chirag Paswan's Rising Influence

Patna:

The NDA has officially revealed its seat-sharing arrangement for Bihar's 2025 Assembly elections, potentially establishing a new political equilibrium in the state. The distribution—101 seats each for the BJP and Nitish Kumar's JDU, 29 for Chirag Paswan's party, and 6 seats each for Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM and Upendra Kushwaha's RLM—highlights two significant developments.

First, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United no longer maintains its dominant position in Bihar politics.

The formula that indicated BJP's increasing influence in 2024—where JDU contested 16 seats while BJP took 17 of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats—appears to have solidified for the upcoming state elections as well.

The BJP has clearly signaled its unwillingness to remain in a secondary role and is positioning itself to assume leadership in the future, while temporarily maintaining power equilibrium.

The second major development concerns Chirag Paswan, Lok Janshakti Party leader and son of former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Sources indicate this represents BJP's strategic shift away from total reliance on Nitish Kumar in Bihar's political landscape.

Chirag Paswan now negotiates from a position of strength.

During the previous election, LJP (Ram Vilas) acted as a disruptor for Nitish Kumar, causing substantial damage to Janata Dal United and diminishing Kumar's political leverage in Bihar.

Paswan's substantial seat allocation is viewed as BJP's next strategic move. By supporting his political aspirations, BJP has conveyed an important message—they intend to elevate him as a prominent Dalit representative and future political asset.

Jitan Ram Manjhi has emerged as the casualty of "adjustment politics," with his party HAM receiving only six seats—one fewer than in 2020.

Political analysts suggest Manjhi's reduced allocation serves primarily to accommodate Chirag Paswan. The message appears unambiguous: NDA now prioritizes establishing a face for Bihar's Dalit leadership, and that face is Chirag Paswan rather than Jitan Ram Manjhi.