BJP Pulls Ahead of JD(U) in Close Race for Largest Party in Bihar

Patna: Early results from the Election Commission show that the BJP is becoming the largest party in the Bihar Assembly elections. By noon, the BJP was leading in 87 of the 243 seats.

The JD(U), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was ahead in 76 seats.

Just an hour earlier at 11 a.m., the situation was different — JD(U) was leading in 83 seats and the BJP in 78. But within the next 30 minutes, the BJP overtook its ally, making the contest for the top spot within the NDA very close.

Overall, the NDA is leading in 188 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is ahead in 47 seats.

Counting began at 8 a.m. with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes at 8:30 a.m. The process is taking place under tight security across the state.

Leaders from the NDA said the results show people’s trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantees and Nitish Kumar’s work for Bihar. However, the Mahagathbandhan claimed that Bihar has “voted for change” and expressed hope that Tejashwi Yadav would form the next government.

The counting is being supervised by 243 Returning Officers and 243 Counting Observers. More than 18,000 counting agents are present to watch the process. Entry is allowed only with valid passes, and mobile phones are not allowed inside counting halls.

More than 70 crore voters took part in the two-phase polling on November 6 and 11 to decide who will form the next government.

In the current Assembly, the NDA has 131 seats (BJP 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, Independents 2). The Opposition has 111 seats (RJD 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2, CPI 2).

With inputs from IANS