Bihar: Nitish Kumar is poised to form the government in Bihar for an unprecedented tenth term after the National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday selected him as the leader of its legislature party.

The JD(U) chief will take oath as Chief Minister on Thursday, with BJP’s Samrat Choudhary set to serve as his deputy. Details about other ministerial portfolios are yet to be announced.

NDA Secures Landslide Majority

The NDA partners—BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV), HAM and RLM—achieved a decisive majority, winning 202 out of 243 seats. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) secured 85 constituencies, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. Earlier in the day, the JD(U) had also named Kumar as its legislative party leader.

Opposition Performance in the Elections

In the Mahagathbandhan camp, the Rashtriya Janata Dal won 25 seats, the Indian National Congress secured six, CPI(ML)(L) got two, the Indian Inclusive Party won one, and CPI(M) also bagged one seat. AIMIM captured five seats, while BSP won one seat.

Historic Voter Turnout

The Bihar assembly elections, conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, witnessed a record voter turnout of 67.13%, the highest since 1951. Women outpaced men significantly, with a turnout of 71.6% compared to 62.8% among male voters.