Bihar's Verdict: Mahagathbandhan Parties Trailing In Early Leads

Early leads in Bihar assembly elections shows that the Congress, CPIML and RJD are trailing behind the NDA. Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD is leading on 36 out of 143 seats, while Congress, which is contesting 61 seats in alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Mahagathbandhan, leading only on seven—eight seats down from what it had won last election. 

CPI(ML) Liberation is leading on six out of 20 seats, and the CPI on one out of nine seats. The Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP), which is contesting 15 seats, is leading none. The other two left parties—India Inclusive Party (IIP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist), which are contesting on three and four seats each, are not leading in any seats.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the RJD had finished as the single-largest party with 75 seats. However, the Congress performed poorly, and the NDA formed the government. Congress, which was allotted 70 seats, won only 19. The Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a majority in the 243-member Assembly, largely powered by the BJP’s 74 seats. JD(U) won 43 seats.

If similar numbers reflect this year, Congress will prove to drag the grand alliance down.

The Opposition alliance includes RJD, Congress, and the Left parties as the main constituents. The NDA, on the other hand, comprises BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

Bihar had registered a historic voter turnout of 67.13 per cent in the elections to the 243-member assembly in two phases on November 6 and November 11. A total of 7.45 crore voters were eligible to decide the electoral fate of 2,616 candidates.