‘Big Brother’ behavior: How the BJP is writing the Maharashtra playbook in Bihar

New Delhi: The mood of ‘joy’ is high in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Bihar is all set to elect its chief minister from the saffron party. Samrat Choudhary was elected leader of the NDA legislative party, paving the way for him to become the first BJP chief minister of Bihar. As a result, the BJP once again staged a master class on “how to have an alliance”.Chaudhry is expected to be sworn in on April 15, replacing Nitish Kumar, who resigned earlier in the day. This is definitely a big moment for the BJP, which has struggled to keep the alliance afloat but still has the upper hand. The announcement also feels like a repeat of what happened in Maharashtra when Devendra Fadnavis resumed his duties as the state’s chief minister.

For much of the 2000s, the BJP was the quieter partner in Bihar, drawing strength from Nitish Kumar’s credibility and caste alliances. In both 2005 and 2010, Nitish was in the lead and the JD(U) always won more seats than the BJP.However, this balance began to break down in 2014. Nitish’s decision to withdraw from the NDA in the wake of Narendra Modi’s emergence as prime ministerial candidate had a serious backfire. With each party fighting for its own good, the JD(U) was left with only 2 Lok Sabha seats, and Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister, taking moral responsibility.In the 2015 assembly elections, the BJP had the largest vote share of 25% and 53 seats, but remained underpowered as the Mahagathbandhan (RJD – ​​80; JD(U) – 71) formed a stronger social alliance. When Nitish returned to the NDA in 2017, the BJP was no longer the same player. By 2020, it had clearly made progress in the alliance, winning more seats than the JD(U). The party won 74 seats and JD(U) won 43 seats. Although Nitish remains the chief minister, the balance within the alliance has shifted.By 2025, the BJP had completely turned the tables. The NDA contested the assembly elections with Nitish Kumar as its chief representative. However, the BJP with 89 seats has once again emerged as a larger partner than the JD(U) with 85 seats. While Nitish Kumar remains the chief minister, the BJP controls key portfolios such as Home. Finally within a year, Samrat Choudhary succeeded in providing the first BJP CM to Bihar.

Before Bihar, the BJP had adopted a similar formula in Maharashtra. Here, the BJP shows how to restructure an alliance from within, turn partners into dependents, and regain major control without destroying the alliance.There was a time when Devendra Fadnavis had to step down and Eknath Shinde was appointed as the chief minister as the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split and merged with the BJP. However, in the 2024 parliamentary elections, the PPP emerged as the largest party within the ruling Mahayutth Party, winning 132 seats out of 288. With stronger support, the BJP pushed for a leadership change, with Fadnavis sworn in as chief minister on December 5, 2024, and Shinde as deputy chief minister.After the BJP returned to power, it began to concentrate power. The chief marketing officer has retained key businesses such as home, finance and legal, which has reduced the operating space of Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who is also deputy chief minister. The alliance remained intact, but its internal balance changed decisively. After Ajit Pawar’s death, his wife Sunetra Pawar was given a post in the Maharashtra cabinet. The electoral strength of the BJP has further strengthened its position. It performed strongly in urban centers including Mumbai in the January 2026 municipal elections.In Bihar and Maharashtra, the rise of the BJP within the alliance shows how this can be done without destroying the alliance. By broadening its own voter base while narrowing the space for partners, the BJP has shown that alliances can be a path to dominance rather than compromise.