Story so far: While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept Bihar winning 202 seats on Friday (November 14, 2025), there are ten seats on which the victory margin was less than 1000 votes.
For the Mahagathbandhan, which won only 35 seats, five of these victories came from – Bodh Gaya (881 votes), Jehanabad (793 votes), Dhaka (178 votes), Forbesganj (221 votes) and Chanpatia (708 votes). The coalition has alleged ‘vote chori’ and promised to produce ‘concrete proof within two to three weeks’ after studying data across Bihar.
For the NDA, BJP won 89 seats, JDU(85 seats), LJP(RV) (19 seats), HAMS (5 seats) and RLM (4 seats). Of these 202 seats, five victories were closely fought – Nabinagar (112 votes), Sandesh (192 votes), Agiaon (95 seats), Balrampur (389 votes) and Bakhtiarpur (980 votes). BSP’s sole victory was also won by a wafer-thin margin – 30 votes.
Here’s a look at the close victories –
Mahagathbandhan (MGB)
Bodh Gaya: Three-time RJD MLA Kumar Sarvajeet won by a margin of 881 votes against LJP (RV)’s Shyamdeo Paswan. Mr. Sarvajeet, who won the seat for LJP in 2005 and for the RJD in 2015 and 2020, polled 1,00,236 votes
Jehanabad: Incumbent RJD MLA Rahul Sharma barely managed to retain his seat by defeating JDU’s Chandeshwar Prasad by a margin of 793 votes and polling 86,402 votes. A stronghold for the RJD since 1995 (except 2010-2015), Jehanabad’s battle was tough as JDU had fielded Mr. Prasad – an ex-MP from Jehanabad. The exit of RLJP from the Mahagathbandhan made it tricky for RJD to retain the Paswan vote in the area.
Dhaka: The closest battle for MGB was seen in this East Champaran seat where RJD’s Faisal Rahman managed to regain his seat defeating BJP’s Pawan Jaiswal by a mere 178 votes. Mr. Jaiswal and Mr. Rahman have been contesting against each other for Dhaka since 2010, alternately winning the seat. In 2010 and 2020, Mr. Jaiswal won the seat as an Independent and a BJP candidate respectively, while in 2015 and 2025, Mr. Rahman won it for RJD. He had lost to Mr. Jaiswal in 2010 on a JDU ticket.
Forbesganj: Congress’ Manoj Bishwas managed to wrest the seat from incumbent BJP MLA Vidya Sagar Kesari by a margin of 221 votes. Mr. Bishwas, a poll debutant, got 1,20,114 votes and managed to wrest away the BJP stronghold which it has held since 1990s (except 2000).
Chanpatia: Another close victory was won by Congress’ Abhishek Ranjan – a newbie, by defeating incumbent BJP MLA Umakant Singh by a margin of 602 votes. Polling 87,538 votes, Mr. Ranjan managed to wrest away the seat from BJP which has held it since 2000.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
Nabinagar: A swing seat falling under Aurangabad region, JDU’s Chetan Anand won Nabinagar, defeating RJD’s Amod Kumar Singh by a margin of 112 votes. Since 1995, the mandate has been switching between JDU and RJD – with the former winning it in 2010, 2015 and 2025 and the latter in 2000, 2005 and 2020.
Sandesh: Breaking the RJD-Left hegemony in this Bhojpur seat, JDU’s Radha Charan Sah won by a margin of 192 votes, defeating RJD’s Dipu Singh. Since 1985, this seat has either been held by Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (1995, 2005) or RJD (2000, 2005, 2015, 2020).
Agiaon: Regaining an old BJP seat from the Left, the party’s Mahesh Paswan won the Bhojpur seat by a small margin of 95 seats, defeating incumbent CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Shiv Prakash Ranjan.
Bakhtiarpur: A key swing seat in the Patna region, Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) managed to win it for the NDA defeating incumbent RJD MLA Aniruddha Kumar by 981 votes. Since 1995, the seat has been won alternately either by RJD or BJP.
Balrampur: Falling under the Katihar district, this Seemanchal seat saw a three-way battle between LJD(RV)’s Sangita Devi, incumbent CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Mahbub Alam and AIMIM’s Mohammad Adil Hasan. By a mere 389 votes, Sangita Devi managed to win the seat, while Mr. Hasan, who polled 80,070 votes, finished second. Mr. Alam lost the seat by 1318 votes, polling 79,141 votes.
Apart from the two coalitions, the Bahujan Samaj Party, which had contested on 192 of the 243 seats, snatched its lone victory in Ramgarh by a mere 30-vote margin. BSP’s Satish Kumar Singh Yadav defeated incumbent BJP MLA Ashok Kumar Singh and RJD’s Ajit Kumar. This seat, which has been won by RJD since 1985 (except 2015 and 2024), came as a facesaver for BSP which has been reduced to single-seat victories in Bihar since 2005.
Published – November 15, 2025 07:11 pm IST