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16-11-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition is set to comfortably retain power in the poor and populous state of Bihar, a vote count showed on Friday, giving him a boost after a disappointing national vote last year.
Winning Bihar is crucial because it is India’s third-most-populous state with nearly 130 million people and it sends the fifth-highest number of lawmakers to Parliament. Control of the eastern state strengthens any party’s power in the Hindi heartland and often helps to shape national political narratives.
Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition could easily cross the majority mark of 122 seats, with data from the Election Commission of India showing it was leading in more than 170 seats. TV channel NDTV said it was ahead in 191 seats, a potential gain of 69 seats from the last election.
The Bihar outcome would mark a sharp reversal for Modi, who lost his parliamentary majority in last year’s national elections and had to lean on allies to remain in power. Since then, his party has steadily regained ground, winning several key state contests.
Political analysts have said one of the key factors in the Bihar election was Modi’s September transfer of 75 billion rupees ($853 million) to millions of women in the state under an employment program.
Women voters across India have turned out in greater numbers over the past decade and political parties have competed to attract them. Previously, men easily outnumbered women at India’s polling stations.
Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari, who travelled across Bihar during the election which was held in two phases on November 6 and 11, said it was “just the women” who were set to give Modi a better result than what he received the last time.
According to a survey this week by Tiwari’s VoteVibe agency, Modi’s alliance secured 48.5% of the female vote, more than 10 percentage points higher than the main opposition bloc.
States including Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are due to go to the polls next year. Of those states, the BJP is in power only in Assam.
In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferred 75 billion rupees ($845 million) to women in election-bound Bihar on Friday under an employment plan launched by his ruling alliance as it tries to retain power in the crucial eastern state.
India’s third most populous state and also one of its poorest, Bihar is ruled by Modi’s National Democratic Alliance and is scheduled to hold an election to its state assembly in the coming weeks.
Women voters have turned out in greater numbers in the past decade, reversing a trend of men easily outnumbering women at the polls, and political parties have competed to attract them.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost its outright majority in the federal parliament in last year’s national election, forcing him to rely on support from regional allies to form a government after facing a resurgent opposition, and he is currently navigating one of the most challenging stretches of his 11 years in office.
Addressing women gathered in multiple locations in the state, Modi said via video link; I see millions of women on the screen, and their blessings are a great source of strength for all of us.
“The (women’s employment plan) is being launched today. So far, 7.5 million women have joined this scheme, and an amount of 10,000 rupees has been transferred to the bank accounts of all these women,” he said.
