Patna: Counting of votes for all 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly began on Wednesday morning, with postal ballots tallied first before the opening of electronic voting machines. As initial trends emerged, the NDA appeared to have taken an early lead in 100 constituencies, while the Grand Alliance was ahead in 54.
Jansuraaj, the fledgling party led by Prashant Kishor, registered leads in two seats, with independents and smaller parties ahead in another two. Officials said 14 EVMs would be counted in each round, with 14 tables set up at every counting centre. Barbigha is expected to be the first constituency to declare its result.
Among the key early leads, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is ahead in Raghopur against NDA candidate Satish Yadav. His elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, is also leading in Mahua. Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary and BJP leader Vijay Sinha have secured early advantages in their respective constituencies.
The AIMIM is ahead in one seat, while leads have also come in for senior figures across the political spectrum. BJP’s Narayan Prasad is leading in Nautan, and JDU candidates Samridh Verma in Sikta and Atirek Kumar in Kusheshwar Asthan (SC) have taken early leads. In Darbhanga region, BJP’s Sujit Kumar Singh is ahead in Gaura Bauram, JDU’s Vinay Kumar Chaudhary in Benipur, RJD’s Vinod Mishra in Alinagar, and JDU’s Rajesh Kumar Mandal, also known as Ishwar Mandal, in Darbhanga Rural. Shivani Shukla, daughter of former MLA Munna Shukla, is leading in Lalganj.
This election has seen the NDA field BJP and JDU in 101 seats each, with Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) contesting 29, Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha six and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM another six.
The Grand Alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement has the RJD contesting 143 seats, Congress 61, the Left parties 30 and the VIP nine. In several constituencies – including Chainpur, Kargahar, Narkatiaganj, Sikandra, Kahalgaon and Sultanganj – alliance partners are locked in friendly contests.
