Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary is currently leading in Tarapur.

Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party is currently leading in three seats.

"Nitish Kumar is going to become the Chief Minister. The people who used to marginalise Nitish Kumar have now understood what Nitish Kumar is..," Bihar Minister Ashok Chaudhary said.

On the initial trends, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal told NDTV: "We are happy with the initial trends. The 160 number is a magic figure for us. The fact that Tejashwi said he will form the government only shows his arrogance." 

Bihar's OBC and Scheduled Caste communities have voted in favour of the ruling alliance, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, according to exit poll data released Tuesday evening.

An exit poll by Matrize said 51 per cent of OBC voters and 49 per cent of SC voters opted for Nitish Kumar and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Conversely, a staggering 78 per cent of Muslim voters chose the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which is led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Tejashwi Yadav, and includes the Congress. Click here to read more

On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's statement that the Mahagathbandhan will form the next government in Bihar, JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar said: "Maybe he was talking about his seat that there will be a change in Raghopur... Nitish Kumar is a social reformer; he is not just a politician... The NDA is going to form the government and the JD(U) will have a major role in it..."

Early trends are also showing that singer Maithili Thakur, who is making her poll debut, is leading in Alinagar.

Early trends also show that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate, is leading in Raghopur. 

In Makoma, JD(U)'s Anant Singh is leading in the postal ballot counting, as per early trends.  Congress candidate Amita Bhushan is leading in Begusarai assembly.

Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial face and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said: "We are going to win. Thanks to everyone. A change is about to come. We are forming the government." 

Counting of votes has began across Bihar.

Bihar's OBC and Scheduled Caste communities have voted in favour of the ruling alliance, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, according to exit poll data released Tuesday evening.

An exit poll by Matrize said 51 per cent of OBC voters and 49 per cent of SC voters opted for Nitish Kumar and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Conversely, a staggering 78 per cent of Muslim voters chose the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which is led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Tejashwi Yadav, and includes the Congress. Click here to read more

Jalebi, sattu ka parantha are being served at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, ahead of counting of votes in Bihar.

BJP's Maithili Thakur, contesting her first election, told NDTV she is "mentally ready" to serve the people of Bihar as exit polls predicted a big win for the National Democratic Alliance or NDA.

"I don't think for even a second whether I will win or lose because I am so happy and satisfied with my 30-day journey. I have complete faith. I feel like I will be living here and serving people, so I am mentally prepared for that," Maithili Thakur told NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal. 

The 25-year-old, a celebrated Maithili folk singer, said contesting the polls was the "best decision of my life". 

"I think this was the best decision of my life. And the way I have learnt in these 30 days by living among people, I could not have learnt this from any book or any other source, and this one month has changed my entire life," Thakur, who is contesting from Alinagar constituency of Darbhanga, told NDTV when asked about her experience of contesting polls.

A 111-year-old woman, Nasima Khatun, on Tuesday cast her vote at a polling booth in Chhatapur assembly constituency in Supaul district in the second phase of the Bihar polls, exhibiting her commitment to the democratic exercise.

"I have cast my vote and fulfilled my duty," Nasima Khatun, who was in a wheelchair, told ANI after casting her ballot.

Officials said she is the oldest voter in the Sapaul district.

Gaya Town Senior Superintendent of Police Anand Kumar said: "All necessary preparations have been made. There is a three-layer security around every strong room. Adequate Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed at all entrances and sensitive areas nearby. Ten motorcycle QRTs have been deployed across the city and adjacent areas; about 200 jawans are patrolling continuously. Our District Control Room is functional. The situation is good everywhere. We are ready to conduct the counting of votes peacefully. The Model Code of Conduct is in effect, so victory processions are not allowed. Section 163 of BNS is in place; unnecessary gathering of more than four people at one place is prohibited..."

One interesting prediction by pollsters is that the Jan Suraaj Party, which is just over a year old, will get a 9.7% vote share, one percentage point more than India's oldest political party, the Congress. The party is also estimated to surpass the 9.6% vote share that the Congress had managed to get in 2020, which had netted it 19 seats. 

Prashant Kishor's party, however, has been given a maximum of only five seats by Peoples Pulse, indicating that the vote share will not translate to wins in constituencies.

Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is likely to make its presence felt this time in Bihar, exit polls have suggested. His party, exit polls suggested, is likely to win 11 of the 29 seats it contested.  While the figure is less than half, it could substantially add to the NDA score -- which, an aggregate of nine exit polls show -- could be 147. The figure comprises 60 per cent of the state's 243 seats.

In 2020, the LJP ran independently and won just one of the 137 seats it contested, pushing political experst to write him off. But the party had managed to eat into the votes of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, bringing it down from the 71 seats it got in 2015 to just 43. 

Exit polls do not always get it right. But the LJP(RV) is hoping that they garner enough of a score to demand the post of Nitish Kumar's deputy.

Chirag Paswan had earlier said that if the NDA manages a decent score, his party would stake claim to the biggest post after the Chief Minister. 

As Bihar awaits the results of the assembly elections, celebrations have already begun within the NDA camp, buoyed by exit polls projecting a victory for the ruling alliance.

In Patna, preparations for laddus and a massive feast are underway. BJP state executive committee member Krishna Singh Kallu has placed an order for 500 kilograms of laddus, which are being prepared with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar placed in front of the large cooking pan.

Workers say they have hung a lemon and the chilli nearby to ward off the evil eye, and in a considerate touch, have used less sugar to make the sweets suitable for diabetic supporters.

"Exit poll results are the reward for the hard work of the people of Bihar and our dedicated party workers," Kallu said.

"This time too, the NDA will form the government once again," he said.

Adding to the festive atmosphere, Anant Singh's family members have announced plans to host a grand feast for 50,000 people in Patna.

His party may not be coming to power in Bihar but RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is the most popular chief ministerial face in the state, an exit poll has revealed. 

Peoples Pulse has predicted that the NDA will win 133-159 seats, the Mahagathbandhan 75-101 and Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party 0-5, indicating that the ruling alliance will comfortably win a majority. When the pollster surveyed people to see who they would prefer to have as the chief minister, however, most of them took the name of Tejashwi Yadav.

While the RJD leader got 32% of the votes, JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was a close second at 30%, indicating that reports of his failing health and mental acuity have not dented his popularity too much. Tied for third were Union Minister Chirag Paswan of the LJP (Ram Vilas) and the fledgling Jan Suraaj Party's Prashant Kishor at 8%. 

Ahead of the counting of votes, Independent MP from Purnea, Pappu Yadav, said: "The BJP cannot win any elections without lying, money power and theft. The BJP also tried its best to ensure that the BJP government is formed instead of the Nitish government... The women and youth have voted in favour of the INDIA bloc." 

NDTV's Poll of Exit Polls, which is an aggregate, suggests the NDA will win 146 seats, the Mahagathbandhan 92 and the Jan Suraaj Party will end up with a solitary MLA. 

Health warning: Exit polls often get it wrong.

Despite a probable loss for the Mahagathbandhan, the AxisMyIndia poll suggests that the RJD will emerge as the single-largest party, like it did in 2020. The party had won 75 seats that year, and the pollster has projected that it will emerge victorious on between 67 and 76 this time. 

The party projected to do second best is the JDU with 56-62 seats, followed by the BJP with 50-56 seats, and the Congress with 17-21. 

Visuals from outside the residence of former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi.

An RJD worker arranges scarves bearing the party's symbol on the eve of counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections, at the party office, in Patna. (PTI)

Ahead of counting, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP candidate from the Lakhisarai Assemblyseat Vijay Kumar Sinha said: "The public will decide who will win the elections. 'Parivarvaadi log' consider politics as their fiefdom. But the public of Bihar will give a strong message to the 'yuvraaj' of 'jungle raj'." 

Flower and sweetmeat sellers of Patna are maintaining a large stock expecting brisk business today, when votes for the assembly polls will be counted, as winning leaders will be garlanded and laddoos distributed among their followers.

Karan and Vikram, two teenage brothers selling marigold flowers under the GPO Golambar flyover, have received orders for around 400 bouquets for Friday. The order for garlands, they expect, will also come.

"Nobody knows who will win the elections. Once the trends start coming tomorrow, the picture will be clearer. And, hopefully, orders will start coming," Vikram said.

The voter turnout figures in the Bihar elections have sparked off an intense conversation. The revised data from the Election commission of India suggests a provisional turnout of 69.1%, which is almost 12 percentage points higher than 2020. The turnout of women voters is estimated at 71.6%, which is also close to 12 percentage points more than the 59.7% recorded in 2020. This is an extraordinary rise in voter turnout, but what do we make of it? Will it offer a peek into the results and the trends in Bihar? Read TM Veeraraghav's opinion piece here

"If the counting of votes is done in a fair manner, then our government will be formed in Bihar..," Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram said.

The Bihar Police is preparing to take major action against RJD MLC Sunil Singh, the close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, after he allegedly made inflammatory remarks on the eve of the Bihar Assembly election results.

Following Singh's controversial statement, DGP Vinay Kumar directed officials to register a case against him.

Acting on the order, the Patna Cyber Police Station has begun legal proceedings.

Bihar has seen an overall voter turnout of 66.91%, which is a record in its electoral history. The turnout in the first phase was 65.08%, which was a record in itself, and was then surpassed by the figure for the second phase, which was 68.76%. The overall turnout has increased by 9.62 percentage points compared to the 2020 Assembly elections, when it was 57.29%. 

Data from previous elections shows that governments have changed three times in Bihar whenever there has been an increase of over five percentage points in the voter turnout. 

In the 1967 elections, voter turnout increased from 44.5% in 1962 to 51.5% - an increase of 7 percentage points -  and the Congress government fell. That year, non-Congress parties formed a coalition government. 

Ahead of counting of votes, RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said: "I am confident that we will be successful. The Mahagathbandhan will be forming the government in Bihar. The results will surely be in our favour. The public has given their mandate to secure their future...The exit of NDA is certain..."

Who will form the government in Bihar? Follow NDTV's live coverage of results - seat by seat, minute by minute.

Axis My India, meanwhile, went (almost) the other way. The BJP-JD(U) will still win, its numbers said, but possibly by as few as three seats. Vote Vibe and Chanakya Strategies also predicted close contests, but with the BJP-JD(U) winning each time.

NDTV's traditional 'poll of exit polls' indicated an easy win for the NDA, which should pick up 146 of 243 seats, 24 over the majority mark. The opposition Mahagathbandhan is expected to get only 92 - a far cry from 110 in the last election. And poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj is likely to flop on its electoral debut, winning just one seat.

Each of the 13 exit polls studied by NDTV predicted a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal United alliance. The most emphatic are Today's Chanakya and CNX; each believes the BJP-JDU will win 150+ seats and the RJD-Congress less than 90.

The Election Commission of India makes arrangements for the counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections, on Thursday. (IANS)

A poll official said EVMs and VVPATs used in the elections have been sealed inside strong rooms under a double-lock system.

"A two-tier security has been ensured at the counting centres. While the inner tier has been assigned to the CAPF, state police have been deployed at the outer rung. Besides, 24/7 CCTV surveillance and other security provisions are in place," he added.

According to the Election Commission, postal ballot counting will begin first, and counting of EVMs will start at 8.30am. "Adequate number of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and personnel of the Bihar Police have been deployed across the state to ensure smooth counting, and prevent any untoward incident," a senior officer said.

He said 106 companies of security personnel from outside the state have also been deployed.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for today's counting of votes polled in the Bihar assembly elections, across 46 centres in 38 districts of the state, officials said. Schools in Patna will remain closed on Friday in view of the counting exercise, they said.

"Counting arrangements have been made in all the 243 assembly constituencies. The exercise will be conducted by 243 Returning Officers in the presence of 243 Counting Observers and the candidates or their agents. A total of 4,372 counting tables, each staffed with one supervisor, counting assistant and micro-observer have been set up. More than 18,000 Counting Agents appointed by the nominees will also oversee the process," the Election Commission said in a statement.

Counting of votes will commence at 8 am on Friday.

All eyes today are on Bihar, which will decide whether Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar - the state's longest-serving chief minister - will secure a record fifth term or a change in government will be witnessed.