Bihar Election Result 2025: In the 2025 Bihar Assembly election results, NDA achieved a strong victory by crossing the 200 seats mark. On the other hand, the presence of the Grand Alliance was limited to only 35 seats. Meanwhile, an important question is being raised in political discussions that how many seats any party has to win to get the post of leader of the opposition. Let us know.

10% rule

The post of Leader of Opposition does not automatically go to the largest opposition party. Actually it is governed by a rule. To officially get this constitutional post, it is necessary for any party to get at least 10% of the total strength of the House. This rule applies only to a single party and not to any alliance. If we talk about Bihar’s 243-member assembly, then a party will have to win at least 25 seats. If no party meets this threshold, the House functions without an officially recognized Leader of the Opposition.

Why is this rule necessary

This 10% rule is necessary because the post of Leader of Opposition holds considerable political importance. This prevents very small parties from claiming positions designed to balance the ruling government. In fact, a recognized opposition leader has a lot of institutional importance. This rule ensures that this responsibility rests with the party that has the most important mandate.

How does this rule apply in all legislatures?

If we talk about Lok Sabha, any party should have at least 55 seats to get the status of Leader of Opposition. On the other hand, based on the total number of seats in Rajya Sabha, the required number is approximately 25 seats.

role of leader of opposition

Being a leader of opposition is a big responsibility. It strengthens democratic accountability. The Leader of the Opposition participates in major selection committees for top national institutions. These include the appointment of Director of Central Bureau of Investigation, Chief of Central Vigilance Commission, Chairman of National Human Rights Commission and Lokpal.

Also read: Can the Election Commission cancel the legislature even after winning the election, what is the rule?

While NDA registered a big victory in the results of Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, another worrying picture emerged. This time the number of Muslim MLAs in the House has come down to only 10, which is the lowest in the last 35 years. Despite the Muslim population in the state being around 17.7%, their political representation is very low which clearly shows the inequality of election strategies and ticket distribution.

In this election, both the Grand Alliance and the NDA expressed less confidence in Muslim faces. There were many seats where Muslim voters traditionally play a decisive role, but political parties fielded non-Muslim candidates in those areas too. AIMIM was not included in the grand alliance, after which the party decided to contest the elections alone. Due to all these reasons, the representation of the Muslim community was significantly reduced and the number of seats came down to a record level.

AIMIM again showed strength in Seemanchal

Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM maintained its influence in the politics of Seemanchal this time also. The party fielded candidates on 25 seats and won 5 of them. These victories were recorded in seats like Amour, Kochadhaman, Jokihat, Bahadurganj and Bayasi, where Muslim population is high and AIMIM had performed strongly in the last elections also. This time the influence of the party was more clearly visible in the four districts of Seemanchal, Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj.

Status of JDU Muslim candidates

JDU has fielded four Muslim candidates in the 2025 elections. Among these, Mohammad Zama Khan came out ahead from Chainpur. Chainpur is not a Muslim dominated area, hence BJP and JDU launched a joint campaign to woo Hindu voters on this seat. In 2020, JDU had given tickets to 11 Muslim faces, but they did not get any success in that election. This time, after reducing the number of candidates, the party was successful in getting one seat.

The only Muslim face of LJP (RV)

Chirag Paswan’s party gave ticket to Mohammad Kalimuddin from Bahadurganj. He survived the competition but remained in third place. AIMIM’s Tausif Alam registered a comfortable victory on this seat, while Congress stood second.

RJD got two Muslim seats

Rashtriya Janata Dal gave limited tickets to Muslim candidates, but the party won on the two seats where it got the opportunity. Asif Ahmed was victorious from Bisfi, while in Raghunathpur, Shahabuddin’s son Osama Saheb won and made the family’s political comeback after 21 years. This time RJD adopted a new balance in ticket distribution, in which an attempt was seen to create a fresh coordination between Yadav, Muslim, EBC, Dalit and upper caste communities.

Mixed situation of Congress in Seemanchal

Congress maintained its presence in Seemanchal like in 2020. Mohammad Kamrul Hoda won from Kishanganj and Abidur Rehman won from Araria. However, a major upset was seen when Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan lost to JDU candidate Dulal Chandra Goswami in Nathnagar.

Lowest number of Muslim MLAs since 1990

If we look at the previous figures of Muslim representation in Bihar, the result of 2025 shows a big decline. In the year 2010, 19 Muslim MLAs won. In 2015 the number increased to 24. Whereas in 2020 again there will be 19 MLAs and in 2025 it will come down to only 10. That is, about 4.1% of the House, while the population is about 17.7%.

Also read: Those factors of Bihar, which gave the victory to NDA and pushed the Grand Alliance into the quagmire of defeat?