Bihar Results LIVE: Mahagathbandhan Lags Behind: RJD Loses Steam, Congress Fails To Gain Ground

New Delhi:

Two hours into counting for the high-voltage Bihar election, the NDA has surged ahead, and the RJD is lagging behind in early trends. At 10.19 am, the Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD is leading in 59 seats, the BJP and JDU in 71 each, and the Congress in 14. These are, however, early trends, and the numbers may change as the counting proceeds. 

In this election, the RJD contested 143 out of the 243 Assembly seats and the Congress 61 seats. The remaining seats were distributed among other Mahagathbandhan allies, including the Left parties and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party.  As for NDA, the BJP and JDU are contesting 101 seats each. Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi's Ham (S), and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha are the other NDA players.    

In the 2020 Bihar polls, the RJD finished as the single-largest party, but the Congress performed poorly and the NDA formed the government. While the RJD won 75 out of the 144 seats it contested, the Congress managed just 19 of the 70 seats it fought on. The upcoming rounds will reveal if this year will be a repeat of 2020. 

Another story is emerging: Nitish Kumar's JDU is making big gains as compared to its 2020 show. This comes at a time when the Opposition has raised questions over Nitish Kumar's health condition, and there has been speculation on whether he will continue as Chief Minister. BJP leaders have said they are fighting the election under Nitish Kumar's leadership.