Bihar election result: Party-wise, RJD surges ahead of BJP, JDU
What's the story
Early trends from major TV networks indicate a close fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar. According to NDTV, the RJD is slightly ahead with 56 seats, with the BJP following closely at 54. India Today presented a similar picture, with the RJD ahead in 58 seats and the BJP in 56. However, alliance-wise, early postal ballot trends show NDA leading in 95 seats while Mahagathbandhan is ahead in 66 seats.
Election battles
Tejashwi leading
Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial face, Tejashwi Yadav, was also leading from his family stronghold, Raghopur, Bihar, in early trends. He is up against BJP's Satish Kumar Yadav, who defeated his mother, Rabri Devi, in the 2010 election as a JDU candidate. AAP's Raju Kumar is also in the race. Tejashwi has represented the seat since 2015. In 2020, he won the seat by more than 38,000 votes.
Election dynamics
Voter turnout and exit poll predictions
Bihar recorded a record 66.91% voter turnout, the highest since 1951. Women voters outnumbered men by over 4.3 lakh votes with a turnout of 69% in Phase 1 and an impressive 74% in Phase 2. Exit polls have predicted a comfortable victory for NDA with Axis My India forecasting between 121-141 seats for the alliance. A combined average of nine exit polls projects over 147 seats for NDA, well past the halfway mark in Bihar's Assembly elections.
2020
2020 election result
In that 2020 election, the RJD had also emerged as the single-largest party, winning 75 seats. The BJP won 74 seats out of 110 seats it contested, while its ally the JD(U) won 43 of 115. Altogether, the NDA won 125 seats, while the opposition coalition of Mahagathbandhan won 110 seats.