PATNA: Vote counting for Bihar’s 243 assembly seats began on Friday morning amid heavy security, officials said. As per the Election Commission’s protocol, counting of postal ballots started first, followed by EVM counting at 8:30 am.
The process commenced at 8 am across 46 counting centres in 38 districts. This election is widely viewed as a crucial referendum on JD(U) chief and Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar. Analysts also believe the results will reflect public sentiment toward the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
A strong NDA performance would reinforce the belief that the BJP-led alliance has recovered from last year’s Lok Sabha setback, while a victory for the INDIA bloc would boost the opposition, which has faced recent losses in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi and has alleged “vote theft.”
Bihar recorded a historic turnout of 67.13% in the two-phase polls held on November 6 and 11. Over 7.45 crore voters decided the fate of 2,616 candidates.
The Election Commission said that 4,372 counting tables—each manned by a supervisor, assistant and micro-observer—have been set up, with more than 18,000 counting agents deployed.
INDIA bloc’s CM face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said party workers and the public were prepared to counter “any unconstitutional activity during counting.” Meanwhile, RJD’s Sunil Kumar Singh warned of a “Nepal-like situation” if counting was disrupted as he claimed happened in 2020.
The BJP criticised these remarks, calling them an expression of frustration. State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said party leaders were closely coordinating with workers at counting centres and expressed hope that the counting process would remain as peaceful as polling day.
