Bihar election 2025: SWOT analysis of INDIA bloc

With the Bihar election date announced by the Election Commission on Monday (October 6), all eyes are on the two rival alliances. It is the RJD-Congress combine-led opposition INDIA bloc that will lock horns with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that will contest the Bihar Assembly election under the leadership of JD(U) chief and outgoing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with the BJP as his alliance partner.

The Assembly elections in Bihar will be held in two phases in the state, with voting to be held on November 6 and 11, and counting scheduled on November 14.

Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the INDIA bloc.

Also Read: Bihar to vote on November 6, 11; results on 14

Strengths of the INDIA bloc

The INDIA bloc, led by the RJD-Congress combine that led a spirited campaign over alleged “vote-theft” by the BJP during the last Lok Sabha elections, enjoys the backing of a significant and loyal Muslim-Yadav vote base that accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the electorate.

As for the RJD, with its patriarch Lalu Prasad taking a back seat, the main Opposition party in the state has projected his son Tejashwi Yadav as its undisputed leader. A former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition has gained a significant following among the state’s youth.

However, it’s not just Tejashwi who can potentially boost the INDIA bloc’s poll prospects. Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has devoted considerable time to the poll-bound state, which has boosted the morale of the party workers to take on the ruling NDA alliance with renewed vigour.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar inaugurates first section of Patna Metro ahead of poll announcement

Weaknesses of the INDIA bloc

The largest constituent of the INDIA bloc, the RJD, is largely controlled by Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav and their immediate family members, who are currently caught up in legal cases, including the land for jobs scam, which is being investigated by ED.

Although Tejashwi has been successful in getting a large section of Bihar’s youth to rally behind him, the problems created by his own family members, like Tej Pratap Yadav and other members of the Yadav family, have often forced the RTJD scion to focus more on his family than on the party and alliance partners.

Also Read: Congress claims EC’s Bihar SIR removed 23 lakh women from voters’ list

INDIA bloc's opportunities

With a young face like Tejashwi leading the alliance, the INDIA bloc has got a total image makeover. Moreover, Tejashwi has been able to successfully project himself as sensitive to the Bihar’s burning unemployment issue that has been plaguing the youth. He has also raised the state’s law and order issue.

Even as NDA has staked a claim to conducting the caste survey in the state by the state government, the fact is that at that time, RJD shared power when the exercise was followed by a hike in quotas for all deprived communities, something it can electorally cash in on, given its "Mandal" credentials.

An alliance with like-minded parties like Congress and the CPI(ML) Liberation and Nitish Kumar's abrupt return to NDA may help the RJD and its allies in garnering the entire chunk of Muslim votes.

Also Read: NDA’s Rs 62,000 Cr poll bonanza blunts Opposition's ‘vote chori’ plank

One has to remember that the INDIA bloc has been out of power in Bihar for a long time. This makes it difficult for the coalition leadership to manage ambitious leaders within the party and keep the alliance cohesive.

(With agency inputs)