Command. Cohesion. Victory.

The mandate of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 will remain historic and unequivocal. The NDA crossed the 200-seat mark in a 243-member House. It is a feat that cannot be attributed to any single sentiment or wave. The BJP’s extraordinary strike rate of over 90 per cent reflects an electoral machine functioning with utmost precision. In the election, the campaign of the NDA was defined by organisational synchronisation, coordination, and disciplined execution.

The base of this political apparatus was built on a carefully designed alliance framework. Each ally of the NDA brought strategic depth, caste-community penetration, and localized mobilisation to the table. As this robust political framework came firmly into place, BJP’s chief strategist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, transformed it into an instrument of dominance under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He ensured that every concept was converted into discipline on the ground, and every discipline ultimately translated into electoral dominance.

Shah’s deep political embedment in Bihar reshaped the contours of the campaign. Over 19 intensive days on the ground, he converted the NDA into a synchronised electoral operation. This propelled the BJP to emerge as the single largest party in the elections. While the Mahagathbandhan kept struggling with seat-sharing right up to the final hours of nomination, the NDA completed its negotiations with utmost efficiency. This cohesion enabled the alliance to function as a unified command even in the most competitive constituencies. Every equation within the NDA was settled well before the campaign entered its decisive phase.

A defining dimension of the election was the narrative and messaging equilibrium. The campaign transcended the usual binaries of caste equations and hyperlocal issues. Instead, the NDA fused national pride with Bihar’s regional aspirations, which further created conversations centered on stability, continuity, and governance. While the opposition’s messaging remained fragmented, the NDA spoke in a singular voice across party lines. Development, security, welfare, and delivery became the operative pillars of this unified narrative.

Amit Shah’s management reinforced a leadership pattern visible across his electoral interventions. His approach treats electoral electioneering through organisational discipline. Be it previously in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, or now in Bihar, he has displayed major turnarounds and reshaped the definition of political strategy.

One of the most consequential interventions came immediately after the alliance seat-finalisation. In a span of just 48 hours, Amit Shah personally engaged with every potential rebel across the NDA spectrum. What could have become a debilitating wave of dissent was neutralised through direct, one-on-one persuasion. This prevented damaging vote-splits in tightly contested constituencies and turned the risk into a strategic advantage.

Equally significant in the campaign was the social engineering blueprint. Over almost 40 days, a concentrated outreach towards EBCs was directed. Mahadalit–Pasi–Paswan communities were mobilised through the combined efforts of LJP(RV) networks and carefully chosen micro-level candidates. Coordinated deployments by the JD(U) and BJP further solidified the alliance’s hold in the Koeri–Kurmi belt. Upper-caste consolidation was ensured through targeted organisational meetings and narrative alignment. In parallel, welfare-led communication and a security-centric narrative were amplified among women and Muslim communities.

The scale of the leader’s physical and political engagement also shaped the campaign’s trajectory. Between September 17 and November 9, he conducted divisional and district-level reviews, addressed 35 public rallies, led a roadshow, and participated in 46 high-impact engagements. These interactions served a dual purpose; they reinforced the NDA’s governance record under CM Nitish Kumar’s administration and systematically dismantled the opposition’s narratives.

Long before the first vote was cast in Bihar, the ‘Chanakya’ had predicted in public gatherings and even in interactions with the media, that the NDA would cross 160 seats comfortably in the assembly elections. The results came in and proved him right by a wide margin as the public yet again displayed their support towards the BJP-led NDA. Such is his reading of the ground. Granular field insights are the source of this type of political clairvoyance.

The victory belongs to the NDA, but the design, the scaffolding, the engineering behind this victory lead directly to Shah’s brilliance. He turned an alliance into a machine, and a campaign into a calibrated and structured system whose precision achieved what we have in front of us today as a historic verdict.

The writer is a political analyst and columnist who writes for national dailies and participates as a panellist on news channels. Views expressed are personal