As counting for the Bihar elections 2025 progresses, early trends show a significant lead for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). With the BJP and JD(U) both sitting at a comprehensive lead against the Mahagathbandhan, talks about the Chief Minister have already started. Considering that the NDA has been campaigning on the face of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the alliance is likely to have a debate over the Chief Ministerial position as BJP takes upper hand in the poll counting.
While the BJP continues to lead in several key constituencies, the JD(U)’s strong performance has also set the stage for an intense leadership debate within the NDA.
The initial trends show that JD(U) and BJP are locked in a close contest for the top spot within the alliance. With both parties performing strongly across the state, the competition has been intensified as the polling goes ahead.
Chirag Paswan: The X factor
On the other hand, the NDA might also play a trump card by rooting for LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan for the Chief Minister position. With the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (RV) leading in 22 constituencies out of the 28, the talks about Chirag becoming the next Bihar CM are also on the cards. Adding another dynamic layer to the NDA’s internal arithmetic, the debate within the alliance could turn out to be extremely interesting.
Will Nitish become the longest-serving Bihar CM?
As compared to the 2020 Bihar assembly election, the BJP does have a significant upper hand over the JD(U) this year within the alliance. Considering the fact that JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar has already served for several years as Chief Minister in Bihar, across multiple terms since 2000. If he takes the oath as the Bihar Chief Minister, he might become the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar. However, the point still stays far behind until the counting concludes; Nitish’s future also depends on what the alliance agrees upon.
Nitish Kumar has already surpassed previous Bihar CMs in total tenure, including Shri Krishna Sinha (14 years) and Lalu Prasad Yadav (7 years), and will now look forward to taking over everyone ahead of him.
Will Bihar see a BJP Chief Minister this time?
Sections within the BJP believe the party’s expanding footprint in Bihar is enough to justify that it has created a strong hold across the state; they might root for their own candidate. Apart from other leaders, current Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary might be one of the strongest contenders to claim the chair.