Nitish Kumar Embarks on Record Tenth Term as Bihar Chief Minister
In a significant political event, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record tenth time on Thursday, November 20, 2025. The ceremony in Patna marked the beginning of a new NDA government, underscoring a commanding electoral performance by the alliance partners.
Decoding the NDA's Commanding Victory in Numbers
The scale of the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) victory is best understood through the exceptional strike rates achieved by its constituent parties. The Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party contested 101 seats each in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
The JD(U) secured 89 seats, achieving a remarkable strike rate of 88.1%, which stands as the party's best-ever performance in a Bihar election. Not far behind, the BJP won 85 seats, translating to a strike rate of 84.2%. This performance was tantalizingly close to the BJP's own peak of 89.2% recorded in the 2010 elections.
Bihar's Strike Rates in Historical and National Context
An analysis of Bihar's electoral history since 1951 reveals the magnitude of the 2025 results. The BJP's 2025 strike rate is the second-highest ever in the state for parties contesting at least 10 seats, while the JD(U)'s rate ranks third. The 2010 BJP performance remains the undisputed leader.
However, when compared to the most dominant performances in state election history across India, Bihar's 2025 sweep does not break into the top tier. Nationally, there have been three instances of parties achieving a perfect 100% strike rate.
Notable national examples include:
- Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) in 1989, winning all 32 seats.
- Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) in 2009, repeating the 100% feat.
- JanaSena Party (JSP) in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections, winning all 21 seats it contested.
Other states with historically high strike rates are Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The AIADMK's 1991 victory in Tamil Nadu, with a 97.6% strike rate, and the DMK's 1996 comeback with 95.1% are landmark examples. More recently, the TDP's 2024 performance in Andhra Pradesh, winning 135 of 144 seats (93.8%), showcases another sweeping victory.
Opposition Performance and Broader Electoral Trends
Among opposition parties in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) recorded its best strike rate of 79.2% in 2015, the fifth-highest in the state's history. The Congress's peak was in the very first election of 1951, with a 74.2% strike rate.
The 2025 elections also saw a strong performance from Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which won 19 out of 28 contested seats, earning a 67.9% strike rate that ranks as the ninth-best in Bihar's history.
This analysis underscores that while the NDA's 2025 victory in Bihar was formidable and historic for its constituents, the annals of Indian state elections hold even more dominant performances, setting a high bar for electoral sweeps.
