After months of aggressive “vote chori” crusade, in the end it looks like the INDIA bloc’s failed to ignite the spark they had hoped for in Bihar. Instead, as counting trends poured in, it became clear that the narrative had misfired spectacularly. The opposition’s campaign seemed to boomerang, with voters delivering a historic, landslide endorsement of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
While the Election Commission is still counting the votes, the BJP-JD(U) alliance holds steady lead in over 170 seats as of 5 pm, comfortably above the halfway mark of 122 in the 243-member House. The Mahagathbandhan on the other hand is struggling to cross even 50 seats.
For the Congress in particular, the numbers are devastating. Contesting 61 seats, the party is leading in five seats as of 5 pm. This performance is among one of the worst performances by the grand old party in the state in over a decade. We take a look at five reasons that may have led to the poor performance of Congress:
Strategy that misread the mood
Congress insiders admitted privately to the Indian Express that the “vote chori” narrative did not resonate beyond social media. The leadership ignored ground feedback, insisting on doubling down on a theme that voters did not connect with. Those close to Rahul Gandhi were convinced of its effectiveness and stuck with it, a Congress functionary told IE.
The result? Traditional Congress supporters, especially among upper castes, shifted away, apparently irritated by the aggressive rhetoric. The party’s attempt to supplement the narrative with economic issues came too late to matter.
Internal chaos
One of the Mahagathbandhan’s biggest self-inflicted wounds was its chaotic seat-sharing formula. Unlike the NDA’s tightly coordinated alliance machinery, the opposition bloc stumbled through weeks of disagreements, resulting in multiple “friendly fights” where allies ended up contesting against each other.
The fallout led to split votes, confused supporters and a fractured anti-NDA front. Instead of projecting a united challenge, the alliance sent out mixed signals that muddied its campaign message.
Crucial vote transfers never materialised, as internal rivalries outweighed strategic coordination. This proved a fatal flaw in a multi-party battlefield like Bihar. With no coherent or disciplined seat allocation plan, the Mahagathbandhan struggled to present itself as a credible alternative. Voters, confronted with contradictory candidate placements and clashing partners, drifted away rather than consolidate behind the bloc.
Turncoats add to identity crisis
Another self-inflicted wound was the Congress granting tickets to several former NDA leaders. The IE report further stated the Congress insider saying that giving tickets to turncoats is not a new thing but if “you give tickets to those whose social media walls still have photographs with NDA leaders, what is the credibility left?”
Seats like Sonbarsha, Kumhrar, Nautan, Forbesganj, Kuchaikote and Baldaur were cited as examples where the party’s ideological inconsistency alienated its base.
NDA’s women-centric push pays off
A key factor behind the NDA’s surge was Nitish Kumar’s targeted outreach to women. The Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, announced just before the polls, promised Rs 2.1 lakh in financial support for women entrepreneurs. Over 1.21 crore women received the first installment of Rs 10,000.
Political commentators believe this move solidified the NDA’s already strong female vote bank and blunted the Opposition’s messaging entirely.
No common narrative, no common stage
The INDIA bloc suffered from two parallel campaigns rather than a unified strategy. Rahul Gandhi fixated on EVM issues and alleged electoral manipulation. Tejashwi Yadav focused on jobs, inflation and daily concerns.
Their infrequent joint appearances signaled disunity to the electorate. There was no coherent narrative and Tejashwi and Rahul were hardly seen sharing the stage during rallies.
“The Congress perhaps was right in believing that Tejashwi’s projection as the CM face would result in a non-Yadav counter-polarisation, but the RJD was not willing to listen. There were many problems. But even then, this result was completely baffling and unexpected,” a pary leader told IE.