PATNA, Nov 14: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) surged ahead in the early counting of the Bihar Assembly elections, reportedly leading in 166 seats out of 243, surpassing the majority mark of 122, as per the Election Commission.
The opposition INDIA bloc, on the other hand, trailed significantly, managing to secure leads in only 59 seats. Election officials noted that these numbers might change as several rounds of counting remain to be completed.
Within the NDA coalition, the BJP currently leads in 72 seats, closely followed by Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) with 71 seats. Other allies such as Lok Janshakti Party (Rashtriya Vakatantrik) and Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) are leading in 18 and 4 seats respectively, while Rashtriya Lok Manch (RLM) holds a lead in one seat.
In contrast, the INDIA bloc has seen the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ahead in 43 seats, while the Indian National Congress has captured leads in 8 seats. Other regional parties like CPI(ML)-Liberation, CPI, and CPI(M) lead in 6 and 1 seat each respectively.
Notably, the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, and Mukesh Sahani‘s VIP failed to secure any leads across the constituencies they contested.
Among key candidates, Khesari Lal Yadav from the RJD is trailing in Chhapra, while Maithili Thakur from the BJP holds a lead in Alinagar. Another RJD candidate, Osama Shahab, leads in Ragunathpur, and JD(U) minister Leshi Singh tops in Dhamdaha.
Tejashwi Yadav, the chief ministerial face for the INDIA bloc, is maintaining a lead in Raghopur. Meanwhile, Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary from Tarapur and Vijay Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai are also leading their respective constituencies.
In a surprising turn, Tej Pratap Yadav finds himself in fourth place in Mahua, where Sanjay Kumar Singh of LJP(RV) is leading.
As the counting progresses, political analysts anticipate further shifts in today’s results. The early trends signal a robust performance by the NDA, which might solidify its power in Bihar once counting concludes.
