Jan Suraaj edges CPI(ML)(L) in vote share, but struggles to beat NOTA in over 25% of its seats

Jan Suraaj loses to NOTA in a third of contests

The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) may have outperformed the CPI(ML)(L) in overall vote share in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, but its performance reveals a deeper weakness: the party struggled to defeat NOTA in nearly a third of the constituencies it contested, a Moneycontrol analysis shows.

Jan Suraaj secured 3.44 percent of the total vote, ahead of the CPI(ML)(L)’s 3.05 percent, placing it seventh in statewide vote share rankings. Only the major alliances—RJD (22.76 percent), BJP (20.87 percent), JD(U) (18.91 percent), Congress (8.46 percent) and LJP(RV) (5.11 percent)—along with Independents (4.66 percent), registered higher shares.

Yet despite this respectable vote footprint for a first-time entrant, the party’s constituency-level competitiveness remained extremely low. Of the 238 seats it contested, Jan Suraaj finished behind NOTA in only 68, translating into a rate of just 28.6 percent. In more than three out of ten constituencies, the “None of the Above” option polled more votes than the party.

This placed Jan Suraaj among the weakest performers by the NOTA benchmark among parties contesting more number of seats.

Bahujan Samaj Party was worse with a rate of 71.8 percent, but it still is leading in one seat. The other two parties to be on a weaker footing are Aam Aadmi Party and Tej Pratap Yadav’s new outfit Janshakti Janta Dal, which registered lower vote than NOTA in 40 of its 45 contests.

Established parties expectedly performed better: CPI(ML)(L), BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV) and RJD beat NOTA in every seat they contested, reflecting stronger organisational depth and vote consolidation.

The contrast highlights Jan Suraaj’s core challenge. While its vote share signals name recall and scattered support across the state, the party failed to convert that traction into constituency-level competitiveness.

In most seats, voters either backed traditional parties or preferred NOTA over the fledgling formation.

The party’s model of decentralised campaigns and “people’s candidates” appears to have generated visibility without delivering depth.