In the Bihar elections of 2025, successful candidates captured the approval of a mere one-third of the electorate, achieving an average of 32.01% support. Notably, while the elected MLAs averaged 47.61% of the votes cast, most triumphed with less than half of the total votes.

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A new analysis by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found that winners of the Bihar assembly elections, 2025, secured mandates from only a little over one-third of the state’s electorate. The study, released on Thursday, found that all successful candidates won with an average support of 32.01% of total registered voters, compared with 25.23% in the 2020 polls.

“This implies that the winners represent, on average, 32.01% of the total electorate,” the ADR report said.

According to the analysis, the elected MLAs secured an average of 47.61% of total votes polled, an increase of 4.6% from the previous assembly election. The report highlighted that 79 (33%) winners secured 50% and above of total votes polled in their constituencies, while 164 (67%) won with less than 50%.

The ADR data further showed that 34 (26%) of the 131 winners with declared criminal cases secured 50% and above of the votes polled. Among winners with clean backgrounds, 45 (40%) of 112 crossed the 50% mark. The report added that 70 (32%) of 218 crorepati winners achieved a vote share of 50% and above, compared with 9 (36%) of 25 non-crorepati winners.

The margins of victory also varied widely. Seven candidates won with margins of fewer than 500 votes, while two secured wins with more than a 30% margin. The analysis noted that 65 of the 112 winners with clean backgrounds defeated runners-up with declared criminal cases. Of these, five won with margins above 25%, including Kaladhar Prasad Mandal of JD(U) from Rupauli, who posted a margin of 32.68%.Meanwhile, 43 of 131 winners with declared criminal cases triumphed over candidates with clean records with three securing margins of more than 20%. The study also pointed out that among the 243 winners, 29 were women, each winning with at least 29% of the vote share. JD(U)’s Leshi Singh from Dhamdaha recorded the highest vote share among women at 57%.

The performance of 111 re-elected MLAs was also assessed. The report added that none won with less than 30% of the vote share. “At least 27% have won with more than 50% of vote share, 50% of re-elected winners have won with less than a 10% margin of victory, whereas one won with more than a 30% margin of victory,” the report said.

On financial backgrounds, the report said that 34 of 218 crorepati winners defeated non-crorepati runners-up with four securing victories by margins greater than 25%. Among non-crorepati winners, 15 of 25 defeated crorepati opponents.

The ADR also examined the role of NOTA in the elections. It found that the NOTA button, introduced by the ECI in 2013, continues to offer voters a means of rejecting all contesting candidates. “Out of 5,02,07,733 votes polled in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, 9,10,730 (1.81%) were polled for NOTA,” the report said.