The new seat-sharing formula marks the end of JD(U)’s long “big brother” era in Bihar politics. Smaller allies like Manjhi and Kushwaha are cut down to symbolic roles, as Chirag Paswan faces a reality check.
BY PC Bureau
Patna, October 12: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made its power equations clear in Bihar, firmly asserting its dominance within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as seat-sharing talks concluded ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections. The long-standing “big brother” status of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] appears to have faded, with the BJP taking a commanding lead in seat allocation.
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Under the new understanding, sources said the BJP will contest the majority of seats, leaving the JD(U) with a reduced share — a significant climbdown for a party that once dictated the terms of alliance politics in the state. “The BJP has shown who the real driver of the NDA is,” remarked a senior BJP functionary after the meeting at the party’s state headquarters in Patna.
🗳 NDA Seat-Sharing Formula — Bihar Assembly Elections 2025
| Party | Leader | Seats to Contest | Change from 2020 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) | Samrat Choudhary / Nityanand Rai | 140 | ▲ +25 |
| Janata Dal (United) | Nitish Kumar | 90 | ▼ −23 |
| Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) | Chirag Paswan | 20 | ▼ −10 |
| Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) | Jitan Ram Manjhi | 8 | ▼ −3 |
| Rashtriya Lok Morcha | Upendra Kushwaha | 5 | ▼ −2 |
| Total | 263 (out of 243)* | Some seats under negotiation |
Note: Figures are based on internal NDA discussions and may be fine-tuned before final announcement.
Smaller Allies Cut to Size
The other NDA allies — Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)] led by Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) headed by Upendra Kushwaha — have also seen their bargaining power sharply curtailed. Both have reportedly been allotted only a handful of seats, a far cry from their earlier demands.
Manjhi, once vocal about being a “kingmaker” in state politics, now finds himself on the margins. Kushwaha, too, who once harbored chief ministerial ambitions, has been forced to settle for what party insiders call a “symbolic presence” in the alliance.
Chirag’s Reality Check
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, who once stormed out of the NDA and later rejoined, has also been made to “climb down from his horse,” as a BJP leader put it bluntly. Despite his recent Lok Sabha success, Chirag’s party has been offered fewer Assembly seats than expected, underscoring the BJP’s message: loyalty comes with limits.
End of the ‘Big Brother’ Era
Political observers see the development as the formal end of JD(U)’s “big brother” era in Bihar politics. Nitish Kumar, who has switched alliances multiple times, now faces the paradox of being Chief Minister while holding diminished political clout within his own coalition.
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“The BJP has ensured that no ally — not even Nitish Kumar — can dictate terms anymore. This is a restructured NDA built on BJP’s arithmetic, not Nitish’s politics,” said a political analyst.
NDA’s New Equation
The seat-sharing formula, insiders say, reflects the BJP’s national strategy: rewarding loyalty, penalizing instability, and keeping allies in check. With the opposition INDIA bloc struggling to find cohesion, the saffron party is positioning itself as the central pole around which Bihar’s politics will revolve.
Whether this reshaped alliance will hold till election day remains to be seen. But one thing is clear — in Bihar’s NDA, the BJP is now the only “big brother” left standing.
