In Bihar, NOTA gets more votes than Owaisi’s AIMIM, emerges as the biggest ‘vote cutter’ for many candidates in assembly elections

In a striking turn of events during the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the NOTA (None of the Above) option has emerged as the unexpected spoiler receiving more votes than All India(BHARAT) Majlis‑e‑Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Asaduddin Owaisi, in several constituencies.  According to official data, AIMIM is leading on only four seats in Bihar. Meanwhile, NOTA has claimed around 1.84 per cent of the total votes, higher than AIMIM’s 1.75 per cent. That means over ten lakh votes may have gone to NOTA.

These NOTA votes have reportedly hurt smaller parties and independents, with many of them trailing behind NOTA in constituencies where the margin of victory was narrow.

In some seats, newly-formed or smaller parties found themselves losing ground while NOTA outpaced them. For example, in Govindganj, the candidate from Jan Suraaj Party (founded by Prashant Kishor) polled 5,111 votes, while NOTA had 1,568 votes, meaning NOTA alone was ahead of or competitive with some party candidates.

About 1.84 per cent of voters i.e. more than 10 lakh people chose the NOTA option, which spoiled the chances of several candidates.

According to the Election Commission’s data, AIMIM is ahead on four seats and has received only 1.75 per cent of the total votes in Bihar. In comparison, NOTA has a higher vote share.

As per the figures, BJP has received 21.46 per cent votes, Congress 8.13 per cent, JDU 19.04 per cent, RJD 23.03 per cent, NCP 0.02 per cent, and CPI 0.59 per cent.

NDA claims victory

Reacting to the early trends that show the NDA crossing the majority mark, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said, “The people of Bihar have given a massive mandate to the BJP-NDA. I thank all the voters of Bihar. The people have made it clear that they want development, a better future for themselves and their children. Bihar no longer wants ‘jungle raj’ or politics of appeasement.”

Mahagathbandhan claims it will form government

Meanwhile, Congress leader and Bihar co-in-charge Devendra Yadav said that under Tejashwi Yadav’s leadership, the INDIA alliance is set to form the government in Bihar. He added, “These are only early trends. You cannot predict the final outcome yet… If anything goes wrong, our workers are present at the counting centres. We don’t want our supporters to celebrate too early. We are pointing out the shortcomings of the Election Commission. RJD will emerge as the largest party.”