The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), led by Tejashwi Yadav as the anchor of the Mahagathbandhan alliance, delivered an underwhelming performance in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. Despite contesting 143 seats, the party managed to win only 25, marking a significant setback for the coalition.
However, amid the disappointing seat tally, the RJD registered a notable silver lining — it emerged as the single largest party by vote share, securing 23% of all votes cast. While this marked a slight dip from its 23.11% share in the 2020 elections, it still remained the highest vote share recorded by any individual party this year.
According to Election Commission of India data, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) increased its vote share from 19.46% in 2020 to 20.07% in 2025, even though it contested fewer seats — 101 compared to 110 previously.
Why RJD Got More Votes but Fewer Seats
Vote share reflects the percentage of total votes a party receives out of all votes cast. A higher vote share does not always guarantee a higher seat count.
The RJD’s situation illustrates several key factors:
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Concentration vs. distribution: The party may have finished second or third in many constituencies, accumulating votes but not enough to win seats.
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Number of contested seats: RJD contested 42 more seats than the BJP or the JD(U), giving it more opportunities to gather votes — including from losing candidates.
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Narrow margins: Many votes may have been “wasted” in constituencies the party lost by tight margins.
These dynamics explain how the RJD could command the largest vote share yet fall far behind in terms of seats.
Mahagathbandhan’s Overall Performance
The alliance fared poorly overall.
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The Congress won just 6 out of 61 seats contested.
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The CPI(ML) secured 2 seats,
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The CPI(M) won 1,
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The CPI failed to win any.
This limited the Mahagathbandhan to only 35 seats in total.
NDA Scores a Landslide
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinched a decisive victory with 202 seats.
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BJP emerged as the largest contributor with 89 seats.
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Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) won 85 seats.
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Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan secured 19 seats.
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Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) won 5 seats.
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Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by Upendra Kushwaha, won 4 seats.
