Elections 2025: Big wins for BJP, allies across board, opposition decimated

The NDA tightened its political grip in 2025, winning decisively in Delhi and sweeping Bihar, marking a year of clear consolidation for the alliance

From the change of guard in the national capital to a continuing streak in Bihar, the year 2025 delivered a series of decisive electoral outcomes for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, there were a few consolation victories for other parties as well.

 

Here's a look at all that went down this year:

 

Delhi Assembly elections (February 2025)

The year opened with a high-stakes battle in the national capital. The BJP won 48 of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly, ending a decade-long Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tenure. This was also special for the BJP as it returned to power in the capital after 27 years.

 

AAP’s leadership suffered a setback, with its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal losing the New Delhi seat to the BJP’s Parvesh Verma by over 4,000 votes. The Indian National Congress (INC) again drew a blank, continuing a streak from 2015.

 

SIR hits in

This was followed by the introduction of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, which was next in line for Assembly polls. At the beginning of the exercise in the state, electors on the rolls were 78.9 million. After a three-month-long process, the Election Commission (EC) published the final list with 74.2 million voters.

 

After the Bihar elections, the poll body commenced the same exercise in 12 other states and Union Territories, calling its Bihar rollout a "success".

 

Vice Presidential election (September 2025)

Amid all this, the post of the country’s second-highest constitutional office also got vacant after former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar announced his resignation, citing health issues. Elections for the same were held on September 9. The NDA nominee, CP Radhakrishnan, won the bid, securing 452 of the 752 valid votes, defeating former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy.

 

Bihar Assembly elections (November 2025)

The Bihar Assembly election, held last month, produced a sweeping win for the NDA, which secured 202 of the 243 seats.

 

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] and the BJP partnership delivered one of the strongest mandates in the state’s recent history. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, while the JD(U) retained leadership of the government. Kumar returned for a tenth term, continuing his record as one of India’s longest-serving CMs.

 

The Opposition, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), won only 35 seats, marking a steep decline in its legislative strength.

Bypolls

Apart from these high-stakes Assembly contests, bypolls were conducted across several states, including Punjab, Odisha, Telangana, etc.

 

• Tarn Taran (Punjab): AAP’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu won the byelection for the Tarn Taran Assembly constituency by 12,091 votes.
• Jubilee Hills (Telangana): Congress captured this key urban seat, with its candidate V Naveen Yadav winning by 24,729 votes.
• Budgam (Jammu & Kashmir): The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP) candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi won the seat by a margin of 4,478 votes.
• Nuapada (Odisha): BJP candidate Jay Dholakia won the Nuapada Assembly bypoll in Odisha, defeating Congress’s Ghasiram Majhi by 83,748 votes.

Setting the stage for 2026

The outcomes of 2025 have created the backdrop for a politically intense 2026, when Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam go to the polls. Apart from Assam, all these states and UTs are currently going through the electoral revision exercise. A separate provision of the Citizenship Act (section 6A) is applicable to Assam.