The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) surged ahead in the counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections on Friday, inching toward the 200-seat mark by noon, according to figures released by the Election Commission of India.
By 1:30 p.m., the NDA was leading in 197 constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held leads in 91 seats, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) was ahead in 81. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] led in 21 constituencies and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in four.
The Mahagathbandhan was ahead in 36 seats. Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led in 27 seats, while its allies — the Congress and CPI(ML) Liberation — were ahead in four seats each.
Among other parties, the AIMIM held leads in five constituencies, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Independent candidates were ahead in one seat each.
In the vote-share tally, the BJP secured 21.26 per cent of counted votes, the JD(U) 18.88 per cent and the LJP(RV) 5.33 per cent. Within the Mahagathbandhan bloc, the RJD registered 22.96 per cent, the Congress 8.14 per cent and the CPI(ML) Liberation 3.18 per cent.
Counting began at 8 a.m. across all 243 constituencies under heavy security. Postal ballots were taken up first, followed by the counting of EVM votes at 8:30 a.m. The process deployed 4,372 counting tables and more than 18,000 counting agents. Most exit polls had projected an NDA victory, though a few suggested a narrow advantage for the Mahagathbandhan.
According to the Election Commission, 2,616 candidates representing 12 recognised political parties contested the two-phase polls held on November 6 and 11. No constituency required repolling.
The election marks a renewed phase of political rivalry between the NDA led by Nitish Kumar and the Mahagathbandhan headed by Tejashwi Yadav. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the NDA won 125 seats and formed the government, returning Mr. Kumar as Chief Minister. He severed ties with the BJP in August 2022 and joined hands with the RJD-Congress alliance before re-entering the NDA ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Electoral trends over the past decade show marked shifts. The BJP increased its tally from 53 seats out of 157 contested in 2015 to 74 out of 110 in 2020. The RJD also retained its strength, securing 80 of 101 seats in 2015 and 75 of 144 in 2020. The JD(U) slipped from 71 out of 101 seats in 2015 to 43 out of 115 in 2020, while the Congress fell from 27 seats in 2015 to 19 in the last Assembly elections.
The NDA currently consists of the BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha. The Mahagathbandhan comprises the RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI, CPI(M) and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).