NDA Welfare Push Hopes to Tilt Opposition Strongholds
Updated on Nov - 06 - 2025, 06:55 AM
In the first phase of the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is placing considerable faith in its reinforced alliance and targeted welfare measures to make inroads into areas where the opposition coalition had previously held sway. According to political analysts, the NDA’s strategy seeks to reverse the 2020 setback in which the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) won 61 of the 121 seats contested in the first phase, compared to the NDA’s 59 seats.
A key change this time around: figures like Chirag Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha, who had parted ways with the alliance earlier, have returned to the NDA fold a move that alliance leaders believe significantly strengthens their social coalition.
Welfare programmes form the second pillar of the NDA’s push. In particular, a scheme providing ₹10,000 cash transfers to over 1.3 crore women is being held up as a vote-changer in critical areas like Patna, Bhojpur, Buxar, Saran, Siwan and Begusarai. These districts were among the strongholds of the MGB in the previous poll.
A senior BJP leader told reporters that there is optimism about capturing ground in Magadh and Shahabad regions locales that went to the MGB last time thanks to the combination of the alliance being re-assembled and the visibility of welfare initiatives.
However, not all challenges are gone. In 2020, the left-leaning CPI‑ML Liberation had a robust base among the poor across caste lines, which boosted the MGB’s tally. Moreover, while alliance arithmetic and benefit schemes are important, analysts caution that ground realities local grievances, candidate credibility, voter mobilisation will still play a decisive role.
To sum up: the NDA is playing its cards on two fronts alliance consolidation and welfare delivery hoping to reclaim opposition strongholds in Bihar. Whether this strategy will translate into a strong win remains to be seen, but for now the narrative is clear: the ruling alliance is confident and positioning itself with purpose.