2025 Round-Up: BJP continues to surge as Oppn remains benign

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) succeeded in strengthening its position in the national politics by clinching victory in the Assembly elections in Delhi and Bihar in 2025. The party also consolidated its base in Odisha after decisively winning the Nuapada bypoll. The Congress party and its allies suffered defeat despite launching an aggressive campaign against the alleged ‘Vote Chori’.

Odisha

The ruling BJP improved its number in the Odisha Assembly to 79 after its victory in the Nuapada byelection. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress party failed to pose any significant challenge before the BJP even though they targeted the state government on various issues. The internal fissures in the two Opposition parties affected their positions in the state politics. 

BJP wrests Nuapada Assembly seat from BJD

The ruling BJP wrested the Nuapada Assembly Seat from Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the principal Opposition Party in Odisha, in a keenly contested bypoll in November. The byelection was necessitated due to the demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. The deceased MLA’s son Jay Dholakia, who contested the bypoll on a BJP ticket, got elected from Nuapada by securing 1,23,869 votes. Jay defeated his nearest rival Ghasi Ram Majhi of Congress party by a margin of 83,748 votes. Majhi was polled 40,121 votes in the byelection. BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria, a former minister, secured the third position with 38,408 votes.

New office-bearers for 3 major parties in Odisha

The three major political parties—BJP, BJD and Congress—in Odisha revamped their organizational structures by appointing new office-bearers. Former Minister Manmohan Samal was elected as the president of BJP state unit for a second consecutive term. Samal formed his new team with the appointment of 10 vice presidents, four general secretaries and 10 secretaries. Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was chosen as the president of BJD for the ninth time in a row. Patnaik appointed seven senior vice presidents, eight vice presidents, 20 senior general secretaries, 30 general secretaries and one treasurer in the new team of 71 office-bearers for BJD. Former Union Minister Bhakta Charan Das was appointed as the president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC). The Congress party constituted a team of 30 office-bearers for its state unit with the appointment of seven vice presidents, 10 general secretaries and 12 secretaries.   

Former MLA Mohammed Moquim expelled from Congress

The Congress party expelled former Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim from its primary membership over his alleged anti-party activities. Prior to this, the former legislator wrote a letter to Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and raised questions about the leadership ability of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das. In his letter to Gandhi, he also expressed his resentment over the way of functioning of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and suggested the party to promote young leaders while citing the advanced age of All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Ex-MP Amar Patnaik, BJD leader Prafulla Samal’s kin join BJP

Former Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik joined the ruling BJP after quitting Opposition BJD in Odisha. Patnaik, a former Odisha Accountant General (AG), had joined the BJD in 2018 and served as a member in the Upper House of the Parliament from 2019 to 2024. During his stint in BJD, Patnaik was close to party’s leadership. Similarly, three members of senior BJD leader Prafulla Samal’s family, including his two sons, joined the ruling party in the state. Samal’s sons—Prayaskanti and Pranitkanti—and his sister Urmila Nayak shifted their allegiance to BJP. Prayaskanti, a former chairperson of Bhadrak municipality and a state secretary of BJD, had earlier resigned from the Naveen Patnaik-led party.  

Verbal duel between ruling party, Oppn over violence against women

Opposition BJD and Congress targeted the ruling BJP over the alleged rise in the incidents of violence against women in the state. They cited two self-immolation cases, including that of a college girl in Balasore over alleged harassment by a faculty member, and the gangrape of a 20-year-old girl on Gopalpur beach among other crimes in support of their allegations. The BJP government, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that the police have initiated prompt action in all these cases and arrested the accused. The Congress party also moved a no-confidence motion against the BJP government during the Monsoon Session of the Odisha Assembly on this issue. However, Speaker Surama Padhy rejected the notice submitted by the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) for a no-trust motion against the government.

BJD’s split voting on Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha

The BJD’s split voting on Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha drew the attention of many. The party had initially announced that it would oppose the Waqf Bill in the Upper House of the Parliament. However, the Naveen Patnaik-led party changed its stance at the last moment and allowed its Rajya Sabha MPs to vote as per their conscience. As a result, a few of the BJD MPs voted in support of the Bill while some others opposed it. The regional party also abstained from voting during the vice-presidential elections.    

India

The BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party’s national president JP Nadda, maintained its dominance in the national politics. The party managed to halt the winning streak of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi while the ruling NDA, under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, secured a thumping victory in Bihar. The NDA nominee also won the vice-presidential polls. 

CP Radhakrishnan elected as the Vice President

CP Radhakrishnan, the nominee of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was elected as the 15^th Vice President of India in a mid-term election in September. The mid-term poll was held following the resignation of incumbent Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Radhakrishnan, a native of Tamil Nadu, defeated Opposition INDIA bloc candidate B Sudershan Reddy. Prior to his election as the Vice President of India, Radhakrishnan had served as the Governor of Maharashtra. He had served as the president of BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit from 2004 to 2007. Radhakrishnan had been elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore constituency in Tamil Nadu in 1998 and 1999 Parliamentary elections.

Nitin Nabin appointed as BJP’s working president

The BJP appointed Nitin Nabin, a cabinet minister in Bihar, as party’s national working president. The decision was approved by the BJP Parliamentary Board. In the last Assembly election, he was elected from Bankipur segment in Patna. The 45-year-old politician is the son of Naveen Kishore Prasad Sinha, a senior and prominent BJP leader in Bihar. From student politics to holding key organisational and ministerial roles, Nitin Nabin, a four-time MLA in Bihar, has steadily risen through the ranks of the party.

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP loses power in Delhi

The BJP returned to power in Delhi after a gap of 27 years by defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Assembly polls, held in February. The saffron party managed to win 48 seats out of 70 in Delhi Assembly while the AAP, that ruled the National Capital Territory (NCT) for 10 years, got 22 seats. Kejriwal, the national convener of AAP and former Chief Minister, lost the poll to BJP’s Parvesh Verma from New Delhi seat. Rekha Gupta (51) was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Delhi after she was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party.

NDA registers landslide victory in Bihar

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising BJP, Janata Dal (United) and some other minor parties, decisively won the Assembly elections in Bihar in November. The BJP emerged as the largest party by securing victory in 89 Assembly seats of the total 243 in Bihar. The JD-U got 85 seats while the RJD was the distant third with 25 seats. JD-U president Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10^th time. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan suffered a humiliating defeat in the polls.

ECI debunks Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of ‘Vote Chori’

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that the BJP managed to win the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana by committing ‘Vote Chori’ (theft) in collusion with the Election Commission of India. Gandhi pointed out alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in support of his allegations. He also raised doubts over the impartiality of the ECI. The ECI, however, rejected all these allegations and asked the Congress leader to lodge formal complaints by producing the proof.