Patna: By 9am on counting day, television channels were already flashing trends for more than 200 of Bihar’s 243 Assembly seats. However, the official updates from the Election Commission of India (ECI) painted a far narrower picture, with authenticated data available for only 16 constituencies.
According to the ECI’s website, the BJP held the highest number of early leads, ahead in eight seats. The JD(U) followed with four, while Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) registered leads in three. The Congress and the RJD were ahead in two seats each.
Among the key names in the early official trends, Shyam Rajak of the JD(U) was leading in Phulwari in Patna, while Anil Kumar of the Congress had taken the lead in Bikram. Former deputy chief minister Renu Devi of the BJP was ahead in Bettiah, and Arun Kumar of the LJP (Ram Vilas) led in Bakhtiyarpur.
Statewide, 46 counting centres have been set up across 38 districts. Each counting hall contains 14 tables to process 14 electronic voting machines per round. Barbigha is expected to be the first constituency to declare a result.
