Patna: The Bihar Assembly elections, largely dominated by the NDA’s sweeping victory with 202 seats, also witnessed several constituencies producing some of the closest and most dramatic finishes of the season. Even as the larger electoral trend pointed clearly towards the NDA’s dominance, a handful of seats delivered gripping contests that were decided by razor-thin margins, showcasing intense local-level political battles.
The tightest finish of the 2025 Bihar elections came from the Sandesh constituency, which emerged as the most talked-about seat on counting day. In a contest that remained unpredictable until the final round, JDU candidate Radha Charan Sah managed to secure a victory over RJD’s Dipu Singh by a margin of only 27 votes. Sah finished with 80,598 votes, while Singh tallied 80,571. The nearly identical vote percentages underlined how fiercely the electorate was divided in this constituency, turning Sandesh into the focal point of election discussions across the state.
Another nail-biter unfolded in Ramgarh, where the BSP secured its only win in the state. Satish Kumar Singh Yadav defeated BJP’s Ashok Kumar Singh by just 30 votes, winning 72,689 votes against his rival’s 72,659. The result demonstrated how every single vote carried weight in this election, especially in constituencies with fragmented voter loyalties.
Close finishes were also recorded in several other seats. In Agiaon, BJP’s Mahesh Paswan defeated CPI(ML)(L) candidate Shiv Prakash Ranjan by a margin of 95 votes, securing 69,412 votes compared to Ranjan’s 69,317. Dhaka too witnessed an extremely competitive race, where RJD’s Faisal Rahman retained his seat by only 178 votes against BJP’s Pawan Kumar Jaiswal. Forbesganj added to this list of narrow outcomes, with Congress candidate Manoj Bishwas edging past BJP’s Vidya Sagar Keshari by a margin of 221 votes.
Despite these scattered close contests, the overall election picture remained strongly in favour of the NDA. The BJP won 89 seats and the JDU secured 85, reaffirming the alliance’s organisational strength and its widespread presence across both rural and urban pockets of Bihar. The results marked a decisive shift in the political balance of the state, reflecting the NDA’s ability to consolidate support after a closely watched campaign.
In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan experienced a significant decline in its performance. The alliance managed to lead in only 35 seats, a sharp fall from its position in the 2020 elections. The RJD led in 25 constituencies, while the Congress managed to lead in just six, indicating a substantial reduction in its electoral influence in several regions that once formed its core support base.
Newer political players also faced mixed outcomes. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, contesting its first assembly election, was unable to win any seat and struggled to make a breakthrough in the state’s competitive political environment. However, the AIMIM continued to maintain a foothold in the Seemanchal region, retaining its influence in traditional pockets despite predictions that it might lose ground entirely.
The 2025 Bihar election thus delivered not only a decisive mandate at the state level but also several constituency-level battles that highlighted the unpredictability and intensity of grassroots politics.
