Bihar Election 2025: Left Parties Suffer Major Setback, Win Only 3 of 33 Seats — Coordination Failure or Crisis of Credibility?

The Left alliance, comprising three major parties, faced a significant electoral setback in the Bihar Assembly Election 2025. Contesting 33 seats, the bloc managed to secure victory in just three—two by CPI(ML) and one by CPI(M). The CPI failed to open its account.

Left Bloc’s Vote Share Collapses

In contrast to the 2020 elections—when the Left won a combined 16 seats under the Mahagathbandhan umbrella—the 2025 performance marks a steep decline. CPI(ML) had then won 12 seats, while CPI and CPI(M) had bagged two each.
This year, only CPI(ML)’s Sandeep Saurav (Paliganj) and Arun Singh (Karakat), along with CPI(M)’s Ajay Kumar (Vibhutipur), managed to retain their seats. The results take the Left back to its 2015-level performance, when it contested separately.

Coordination Failure Within Mahagathbandhan

The Left parties expanded their footprint in 2025, contesting 33 seats, compared to 29 in 2020. CPI(ML) fielded candidates on 20 seats, CPI(M) on 4, and CPI on 6. Additionally, CPI engaged in “friendly contests” with the Congress on 3 seats.

However, this wider yet uncoordinated participation exposed the deep cracks in seat-sharing arrangements within the Mahagathbandhan. The problem became more evident as RJD and Congress also clashed in “friendly contests” on eight other seats.
Analysts believe this lack of coordination confused voters and fragmented the opposition vote base.

Steep Decline in Performance

The dramatic fall from 16 seats in 2020 to just 3 in 2025 signals a sharp erosion of ground support for the Left parties. Their inability to expand beyond traditional pockets, coupled with internal discord within the alliance, significantly weakened their electoral prospects.

Crisis of Credibility

Political observers say the defeat reflects a broader collapse of the Mahagathbandhan’s credibility. The alliance’s flagship promise—“one job per family”—was widely viewed by voters as unrealistic and impractical.

In contrast, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s pledge to create one crore jobs in the next five years appeared more credible and struck a chord with young voters. The shifting public mood clearly went against the Left bloc.

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