November 15, 2025 07:27 AM IST First published on: Nov 15, 2025 at 07:10 AM ISTFor decades — arguably since Karpoori Thakur’s tenures as CM in the 1970s and with the rise, post-Mandal, of leaders like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar — Bihar’s politics has been analysed through a series of tired truisms, rigid stereotypes and airtight binaries. The sheer scale of the NDA’s landslide victory, with Nitish Kumar now one of the longest-serving chief ministers in Indian history, demands that the received wisdom about “caste arithmetic” and “anti-incumbency”, for instance, be upgraded. The appeal of Narendra Modi and Nitish, partners in the victorious JD(U)-BJP alliance, was visible across regions and communities. For a diminished Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, and the besieged INDIA bloc at the national level, the writing on the wall is clear: Voters are not moved by an apocalyptic politics. Nor are they taken in by reels that go viral, or promises of government jobs that are a fiscal fantasy.Kumar’s undimmed popularity lies not in choosing between social justice and development, but in linking them together and building on both. He has deepened the politics of dignity by forging a social coalition that includes the less visible marginalised communities, the Extremely Backward Classes and the Mahadalits. This was accompanied by a push for growth more universal in its architecture, and well-targeted welfare schemes. Law and order, the most basic barometer of state capacity, was seen as a vital part of the turnaround and empowerment story. Bihar continues to be one of the fastest-growing states under the NDA. Yet, to come out of the low-income trap, it needs to pick up pace urgently. It needs industry, urbanisation and jobs. It needs to grow while addressing the persistent inequalities. The new government must invest more in infrastructure, re-energise bureaucracy and ensure that systems are reliable, efficient and enabling.AdvertisementGoing forward, the same strengths and synergies that have made the NDA the most successful electoral force in Bihar’s recent history can help the government deliver on new challenges. Nitish Kumar has shown political will, and the BJP machinery has, once again, shown that it has its ears to the ground. The RJD-Congress and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj painted spectres and pictures of darkness — of “vote chori”, poverty and palayan (migration) — rather than asking the people what they want and need. For the winners, too, this is not the time to stop listening to the people. Only when it becomes the springboard for the next big idea to transform Bihar will this sweeping mandate be truly honoured and respected.