NEW DELHI : Stay tuned to our channel to hear an interesting story from Bihar, which is going to face elections in the early weeks of next month. The number of voters in Bihar exceeds the total population of many independent countries. According to the 2024 revision of the United Nations (United Nations) (also known as World Population Prospects), the total population of the world is 8.2 billion. Based on the population of other countries, Bihar’s voter population exceeds the population of approximately 92 countries. There are 92 countries with a population smaller than Bihar’s, whose population is more than 76.4 million. In Bihar
You will be pleased to know that Bihar has more voters than Taiwan (23.9 million), Sri Lanka (22.2 million), Qatar (2.8 million), Portugal (10.4 million), Greece (10.4 million), Sweden (10.6 million), Belgium (11.8 million), etc. (Remember, this comparison is based on total population, not voters). Although many countries have voter turnout of 70-80 percent, the total population is the benchmark.
After more than a month of seat-sharing negotiations, the BJP-led NDA has finally announced the seat-sharing for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, presenting Nitish Kumar as an equal. Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) no longer plays a major role in the state. It no longer plays the role of the elder brother in the NDA. This was already evident in last year’s Lok Sabha elections, when the Janata Dal-United (JDU) was given 16 seats compared to the BJP’s 17.
The NDA’s formula could symbolize a new political balance in the state. This division—101 seats each for the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s party, 29 for Chirag Paswan, and six seats each for Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM—is a clear indication of two clear shifts. This formula, which signaled a BJP advantage in 2024—with the JDU contesting 16 and the BJP contesting 17 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats—has also become evident for the state elections. The BJP has made it clear that it will no longer play a secondary role and is preparing to assume a leadership position in the next phase, while maintaining the balance of power for the time being.
Another major signal is that by allocating 29 seats to Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan, the BJP has signaled that it no longer wants to rely on Nitish Kumar in Bihar politics. Chirag Paswan has succeeded in negotiating. Although he had been adamant on 40 seats, he is raising slogans like “Bihar 1st, Bihari 1st” (Bihar 1st)… He himself had announced that he would contest the elections, but is now silent on this issue. In the last assembly elections, Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) spoiled Nitish Kumar’s game, causing heavy losses for his party, the Janata Dal United, and diminishing his dominance in Bihar politics.
The increased seat share given to Paswan is being seen as the BJP’s next step. Keeping his political ambitions in mind, the BJP has sent an important political message that it now wants to promote him as a Dalit face and a future asset. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s seats have been reduced. Manjhi’s party, HAM, has been allotted only six seats this time, compared to seven in 2020. Manjhi’s seats have been reduced solely to appease Chirag Paswan. The message is clear: the NDA’s focus is now on providing a face to the state’s Dalit leadership, and that face is Chirag Paswan, not Jitan Ram Manjhi.

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