After six hours of counting, the NDA surged ahead on 201 seats by 2 p.m., tightening its grip on what has become a one-sided Bihar Assembly election. The BJP led on 91 seats, while the Nitish Kumar–led JD(U) was ahead on 80. Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) held leads on 22 seats, and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM on five.
The Mahagathbandhan trailed far behind with leads on just 36 seats. Of these, the RJD held 27, the CPI(ML) and Congress four each, and the CPM one.
The ruling NDA continued to widen its lead through the day, in line with exit poll projections. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which had pitched itself as an alternative political force, remained without a lead on any seat.
The results so far indicate what could be the RJD’s second-worst performance in assembly elections. Even the Opposition’s chief ministerial face, Tejashwi Yadav, was struggling in Raghopur, where the BJP’s Santosh Kumar maintained a lead of around 3,000 votes.
The NDA’s sweeping lead has all but ended Tejashwi Yadav’s chances of becoming the country’s youngest chief minister. The current record is held by Arunachal Pradesh’s Pema Khandu, who took office at 37; Tejashwi is 36.
With counting underway across all 243 constituencies, early trends on November 14 showed the NDA comfortably crossing the majority mark. The Mahagathbandhan remained a distant second, while Jan Suraaj had yet to make an entry.
Counting is being supervised by 243 Returning Officers and 243 Counting Observers, in the presence of candidates and their agents. The Election Commission noted that this is the first time in recent years that no discrepancies or malpractices were detected during scrutiny, and no repolls were recommended.
Clearer results were expected by late afternoon, with final outcomes typically confirmed by evening depending on the pace of counting.
