New Delhi: It has been a year since elections are likely to be held. It started with the intense campaigning for Delhi Assembly elections and ended with the surprising results of Bihar. There were intermittent parliamentary conflicts, internal strife and figures emerging and moving away from the centre.In 2025, while many stalwarts did not live up to expectations, many cemented their place back and proved themselves to be the dark horses of Indian politics.This year is also a reminder that power is never static – and survival often matters as much as victory.So, who were the winners and losers in politics in 2025? Here’s a look.
winners
Nitish KumarBefore the Bihar Assembly elections, the opposition was in a hurry to write the political obituary of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Throughout the campaign, Nitish’s former deputy and RJD scion Tejashwi Yadav claimed that the chief minister was “mentally unfit” and “too old” to rule the state.Besides, political pundits were also skeptical about Nitish’s return. He highlighted anti-incumbency and infighting within the NDA to argue that the odds were against them.
However, the results painted a different picture. Bihar once again gave a sweeping mandate to the NDA, extending Nitish Kumar’s two-decade-long hold on power. NDA secured a thumping majority by winning 202 seats in the 243-member House.inside nda BJP emerged as the strongest performing party with 89 seats – its best result so far in the state – followed by Nitish Kumar’s JDU with 85 seats.SiddaramaiahIn form of Congress On November 20, the government in Karnataka reached the halfway point, the secret agreement became public. From Deputy Chief Minister to many MLAs and MLCs DK ShivakumarHis faction camped in Delhi to put pressure on the party high command to honor the ‘deal’ and make him the chief minister for the next two and a half years.DKS sparked speculation after it confirmed the “secret agreement”, claiming that there was “a confidential understanding on leadership change between five or six leaders” soon after Congress’s massive victory in the 2023 elections.
This started the most cordial feud between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy Chief Minister. Both the leaders also sat over breakfast to reach a consensus, but the question on the post of Chief Minister remained unanswered.For now, the standoff seems to be subsiding. Siddaramaiah seems to have bought more time from the high command while DKS has chosen to wait it out, with both the leaders refraining from making any public comments on the issue.Nitin NabinThe elevation of Bihar MLA Nitin Nabin as working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party was a rise that very few had seen coming. While political pundits were speculating on the names of bigwigs with strong links to the RSS, Nabeen’s appointment marked a major organizational change at the top of the ruling party.Although he is only 45, Nabeen is a five-time MLA and has held many key organizational responsibilities. He served as the Bihar president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 2016 to 2019 and managed the BJP’s Lok Sabha and assembly campaigns in Sikkim in 2019, before being appointed co-in-charge of Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh in 2021.At a time when Congress was considered the frontrunner to retain power in the 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Nabeen had predicted victory for the BJP leadership, which ultimately came true.The caste arithmetic also coincides with Nabin’s promotion as party president. The choice of upper caste Kayastha Nabeen – a community that forms barely 0.6% of Bihar’s population and is considered politically insignificant in the state – is significant as Kayasthas are among the dominant castes in West Bengal, where assembly elections are to be held in May next year.Welfare schemes target womenPolitical mobilization of women vote bank through welfare schemes was seen at its peak in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. Just days before the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, under which Rs 10,000 were deposited into the bank accounts of 1.2 crore women. Additionally, social security schemes like free electricity up to 125 units and pension hike were also announced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before the elections.The result was that the number of women voters at polling stations exceeded that of men and voting records were broken. While overall turnout stood at 66.91 per cent, an extraordinary 71.6 per cent of women voted – almost nine percentage points higher than the 62.8 per cent turnout among men.This overwhelming participation tilted the mandate towards the NDA, which was boosted by welfare schemes for women. The difference between the two alliances was stark: the NDA had already delivered, while the Grand Alliance’s offer remained a poll promise. For many women, that difference – money already in the bank versus the promise of future help – matters.Chirag PaswanAt a time when the stars are not matching for Dalit leaders like Mayawati and Jitan Ram Manjhi, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has emerged as the third hero in the NDA’s success in Bihar.LJP(RS) won 19 out of 29 seats, taking the NDA past the 200-seat mark.Chirag’s clout in Bihar and within the NDA was also evident during seat-sharing talks, when his party got its fair share despite only one of its 143 candidates winning during the 2020 assembly elections. Their bargaining power came from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the LJP (RV) won all five seats it contested.
lost
CongressThis year too, the wheel of fortunes of Congress did not turn, as 2024 was full of electoral defeat and infighting for the party. Hurt by defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra in 2024, the grand old party continued its dismal performance in 2025 as well.It started with the defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, where Congress could not win a single seat. Apart from the election results, it also suffered the loss of the alliance after the Aam Aadmi Party decided to walk away from the India Bloc.In the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress experienced the biggest decline when it managed to win only six seats. Rahul Gandhi traveled more than 1,300 kilometers to garner support from voters, but was unsuccessful compared to local issues that resonated more strongly with Bihar voters.Meanwhile, the party faced another crisis in Karnataka after the tussle between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar over the post of Chief Minister. Although the situation seems to be calm now, the party is sitting on a ticking time bomb which may explode soon.Furthermore, several Congress leaders highlighted serious problems within the party. One of them was former Odisha MLA Mohammed Mokim, who wrote to Sonia Gandhi calling for “open-heart surgery” in the party and marking the growing rift between the leadership and its workers.
In his letter to Sonia Gandhi on December 8, former Odisha MLA Mohammad Mokim highlighted six consecutive electoral defeats in Odisha and three in the Lok Sabha, and also questioned the selection of Mallikarjun Kharge as party leader and claimed that the 83-year-old veteran is “unable to keep pace with the youth of India.”Lalu family2025 was the year of autumn for Lalu clan. Lalu Yadav and his family and party had to face setbacks throughout the year. The party won only 25 seats in the assembly elections, registering one of its worst performances in the Bihar elections.Soon, things turned sour on the family front too. Just days after the election results, Rohini Acharya – the second of RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s nine children and the kidney donor who saved him – announced she was quitting politics and “disowning” her family.Reportedly, Rohini had a heated argument with her brother Tejashwi Yadav over RJD’s assembly election disaster. He also alleged that he was accused of donating a “dirty kidney” to his father “after taking crores of rupees and a Lok Sabha ticket”.Earlier, Lalu had expelled his eldest Tej Pratap Yadav from the party for six years after he shared a photo with a woman on Facebook and claimed that he was in a relationship with her for 12 years.Later, Tej Pratap formed his own party – Jan Shakti Janata Dal – which did not win the assembly elections.Prashant KishorePrashant Kishor, once known as India’s top election strategist, entered the Bihar elections as a political candidate and walked out as the biggest loser.After two years of padyatra across Bihar and massive media campaign around Jan Suraj, Kishor established himself as a transformative alternative to both the NDA and the Grand Alliance. However, Jan Suraj did not manage to win even a single seat, losing his deposit in most of the constituencies where he had fielded his candidates.However, PK has repeatedly said that he will not back down. His next test is coming long before 2030 – the Panchayat elections in 2026 – where he may attempt a comeback.Arvind KejriwalAfter two landslide victories in 2015 and 2020, Kejriwal’s AAP is set to be voted out of power in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Of the 70 assembly constituencies, BJP won 48 seats, while AAP managed to secure only 22 seats.To add insult to injury, Kejriwal also lost the New Delhi seat to BJP’s Pravesh Verma.After coming to power as an anti-corruption crusader, Kejriwal found himself embroiled in corruption cases days before the elections.After coming out of jail on bail, Kejriwal resigned from the top post, seeking recognition from the people of Delhi. However, the Union Territory refused to give Kejriwal the ‘Mr Clean’ label.DK ShivakumarDespite trying every trick in the book, DK Shivakumar failed to replace Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. After the conflict came out in the open, DKS visited Delhi several times, but the high command did not budge.DKS tested all the criteria to become the CM of Karnataka. He raised funds for the party during the elections and Vokkaliga saints, one of the strongest sects in Karnataka, are also supporting him. Also, most of the Congress MLAs are in his favor.Despite this, the DKS has decided to take a step back, listen to the party high command and wait for the right time as the high command is roaming around Delhi to respond.Honorable Mention: Shashi TharoorCongress MP Shashi Tharoor remained in the headlines throughout the year due to his charm and ‘Tharurosaurus’. Another reason for his attention was his standoff with his own party on different occasions. Despite being a member of the CWC, the Thiruvananthapuram MP skipped several important party meetings and refused to follow the party line on several issues. This irked many senior leaders of the grand old party, leading to repeated exchanges on social media platforms and in the media.It all started after Shashi Tharoor emerged as one of the key voices articulating New Delhi’s position after the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor. Later, the Center invited him to lead an Indian delegation as part of global outreach after Operation Sindoor, while the Congress was raising tough questions for the government. This did not go down well with his party colleagues, who accused him of aligning with the BJP.However, just ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, the Congress is finding it difficult to take strict disciplinary action against a popular leader in the state, giving Tharoor a free hand to steer in the wrong direction.Now, it remains to be decided whether Tharoor will emerge as the winner or the loser after the tug of war with his own party.
