PATNA: The ruling NDA surged ahead in early trends, leading in 166 seats—well above the majority mark of 122—as counting began for the Bihar assembly elections on Friday morning, according to the Election Commission.
The opposition INDIA bloc lagged significantly, leading in 59 of the 243 seats. Officials noted that the numbers may shift as several rounds of counting remain.
Within the NDA, the BJP led in 72 seats, JD(U) in 71, LJP (RV) in 18, HAM (S) in four, and the RLM in one.
In the INDIA bloc, the RJD led in 43 seats, the Congress in eight, CPIM(L) Liberation in six, and the CPI and CPI(M) in one seat each.
Both the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Mukesh Sahani, were trailing in all constituencies they contested.
Among key candidates, singer-turned-politician Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD) trailed in Chhapra, while singer and BJP candidate Maithili Thakur led in Alinagar.
RJD’s Osama Shahab, son of late gangster-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, led in Ragunathpur, and JD(U) minister Leshi Singh held an edge in Dhamdaha.
INDIA bloc’s CM face Tejashwi Yadav (RJD) led in Raghopur, while Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary (BJP) was ahead in Tarapur. Another Deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, led in Lakhisarai.
JJD founder Tej Pratap Yadav was in fourth place in Mahua, where LJP (RV) candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh was in the lead.
