Bihar to have double engine ki sarkar, as NDA wins majority, Tejashwi's RJD single largest party | LIVE

Party Seats
NDA-BJP 74
JD(U) 43
HAM 04
VIP 04
Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan)
RJD 75
Congress 19
CPI(ML) 12
CPI 02
CPI(M) 02
OTHERS
AIMIM 05
BSP 01
LJP 01
Independent 01

Total: 243

The BJP, which had contested 110 seats, won 74 while the JD(U) which fought 115, won only 43. With four seats each won by junior allies HAM and VIP, the NDA is poised to have 125 seats in its kitty, three more than the number required for a simple majority.

NDA has emerged as winner in the Bihar election as it managed to reach the halfway mark — 122 seats — to claim the majority. The current seat tally stands at (BJP 72, JDU 42, VIP 4, HAM 4) and leads on 2 out of the total 243 seats in fray.

Results declared for 229 seats out of the total 243. NDA wins 116 seats (BJP 68, JDU 40, VIP 4, HAM 4), Mahagathbandhan wins 105 seats (RJD 71, Congress 18, Left 16), AIMIM wins 5, BSP wins 1, LJP wins 1 & Independent wins 1 seat.

"With counting of votes left in only 20 seats out of the 243, so far, the results have been declared on 223. VVPAT of 5 booths that are to be taken up for counting, those exercises are going. We hope these will be completed soon," said Deputy Election Commissioner Chandrabhushan Kumar.

On NDA's victory in the Bihar election, PM Modi has tweeted, "Each and every voter of Bihar clearly stated that their priority is only development. People from every section have relied on NDA's mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'. I would like to assure the citizen of Bihar of development in every region."

Hailing people of Bihar for showing faith in the BJP, JD-U alliance in the assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that 'democracy has won again in the state with the blessings of people'. 

On NDA's victory, Home Minister Amit Shah took to Twitter and said, "@BJP4India symbolizes development, trust and progress. Salutes the people for their unprecedented support to the BJP in bihar assembly elections and bye-elections to various states of the country today. Congratulations to PM Modi and National President JP Nadda and all the workers of the party."

"This result not only looks at the confidence of the poor, labourers, farmers and youth in the successful fight of the Modi government against corona but also a lesson for those who mislead the country. I express my gratitude to all the brothers and sisters of the state from the depths of their hearts for re-electing development, progress and good governance in Bihar," Amit Shah said.

"Every section of Bihar has once again hoisted the flag of NDA's evolution by denying the politics of hollowism, casteism and appeasement. This is the victory of the hopes and aspirations of every Biharis...@narendramodi and @nitishkumar double engine is the triumph of development. Congratulations to the workers of the BJP."

As counting of votes is still underway in some seats, the BJP has claimed victory in the Bihar Assembly Election. Taking to Twitter, BJP President JP Nadda said, "I wholeheartedly congratulate and thank the people of Bihar for today's mandate."

"I have a heartfelt greetings to PM Modi Ji. Under his leadership, India will indeed be a global power with equal opportunities for prosperity, security and moving forward for all. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the millions of workers who, on the one hand, threw themselves into the service of humanity during the Corona transition, and on the other hand, also brought the achievements of the centre and the state government to the masses and worked to strengthen the party at every booth," Nadda tweeted.

Union Home Minister and former BJP president has thanked people of Bihar for voting the NDA back in power. He hailed the people of the state for electing 'development and sushasan (good governance)' once again.

 Election Commission of India (ECI) will once again hold press conference at 1 am, as counting of votes is still underway in Bihar election. Going by results at this moment, then NDA has almost the magic figure, according to the party leader Bhupendra Yadav. However, there is no official confirmation.

As BJP is almost reaching the majority mark, party leader Bhupender Yadav addressed a presser and said, "NDA has once again won absolute majority in Bihar Elections 2020. We want to thank PM Narendra Modi and our party president JP Nadda for leading the party in the biggest polls of the country."

BJP workers celebrate in Patna as the latest trends show their party leading in Bihar assembly election.

NDA has once again won absolute majority in Bihar Elections 2020. We want to thank PM Narendra Modi and our party president JP Nadda for leading the party in the biggest polls of the country, says BJP leader Bhupender Yadav in Patna.

Results declared for 183 seats out of the total 243. NDA has won 90 seats (BJP 51, JDU 32, VIP 4, HAM 3), Mahagathbandhan grabbed 86 seats (RJD 60, Congress 14, Left 12), AIMIM gets 4 seats; BSP wins 1, and one seat has been won by an independent candidate.

Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) which parted ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Bihar polls and contested elections alon has been able to win just one seat.

Further responding on RJD and Congress' allegations, Election Commission said, "Existing instruction states 'where margin of victory is less than no. of postal ballot papers rejected as invalid at time of counting, rejected postal ballot papers will be mandatorily reverified by returning officer before declaration of result'".

"Whenever such verification is done, the entire proceeding should be videographed as per instructions of Election Commission of India (ECI)," Deputy Election Commissioner Chandrabhushan Kumar said.

As counting is still underway, a look at results so far. Out of 142 seats results which have been announced so far, NDA has won 72 seats (BJP 39, JDU 27, VIP 4, HAM 2), leading on 51. Mahagathbandhan wins 44 seats (RJD 45, Congress 8, Left 12), ahead on 48. AIMIM wins 3, leading on 2; BSP wins 1, & Independent 1.

After RJD and Congress alleged fraud in counting of votes, the Election Commission in a presser said that it has never worked under anybody's pressure. All officials and machinery are working sincerely for declaration of Bihar Election Results 2020, Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General, ECI said.

RJD and Congress delegation have arrived at the Election Commission office to raise the issue of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allegedly influencing counting of votes.

Watch: Celebrations outside Asaduddin Owaisi's residence in Hyderabad, Telangana; his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has won one seat in Bihar and is leading on four seats, as per latest Election Commission of India trends. 

Meanwhile, as the counting is underway, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged, "This is a list of 119 seats where the Grand Alliance candidates have won after the counting is over. The returning officer congratulated him for the victory but is no longer giving the certificate saying that you have lost. They were also shown on the ECI website. Such loot will not run in democracy."

Bihar Election Result so far: BJP wins 28, RJD- 25, JD(U)-17, Congress- 7, CPI(M-L)- 6, VIP- 2, AIMIM- 2, and CPI, CPI(M), HAM(S) & Independent 1 each.

The election commission will hold a press conference at 10 pm as counting of votes is still underway. NDA is maintaining the lead with a knife-sharp margin but suspense is continuing. 

Results declared for 74 out of the total 243 seats so far: BJP 22, RJD wins 20, JD(U) 13, Congress 7, CPI(M-L) 5, VIP 2 and AIMIM, CPI, CPI(M), HAM(S) & Independent 1. NDA leading on 126 seats, Mahagathbandhan on 110 seats and AIMIM on 5 seats.

Meanwhile, RJD's Manoj Jha said, "numbers close, margin low and our strike rate better than others. JDU-BJP leaders are sitting at CM residence. I urge these leaders &admn that it's their duty to be impartial. They're delaying handover of certificates & not entertaining our candidates. It's us who'll win."

Election Commission has so far declared results for 14 out of the total 243 seats. As per EC update, BJP has won 6; RJD, JD(U) & Vikassheel Insaan Party 2 each, Congress & AIMIM 1 seat each. NDA at this point of time leading on 124 seats, Mahagathbandhan on 111 seats, AIMIM on 5 seats, BSP on 1 seat and Independents on 2.

Sharad Yadav's daughter has lost the election from Bihariganj constituency. Counting of votes is still underway. At this point of time, NDA is leading on 122 seats, RJD+ on 113 and others on 8 seats.

Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav has won the election in Hasanpur seat by 20,000 votes. At this time, NDA is leading on 124 seats, RJD on 110 and others on 9. READ MORE

Hindustani Awam Morcha's Jitan Ram Manjhi has won the Imamganj seat by over 15,000 votes. He defeated RJD's Uday Narayan Choudhar. LJP's Shobha Sinha was also in the fray. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM contested Bihar Election 2020 in alliance with the JDU and BJP. READ MORE

BJP's tact of using (Asaduddin) Owaisi Sahab's party in the Bihar elections has succeeded to an extent. All secular parties should be alert about vote cutter Owaisi Sahab, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.

As per latest ECI data, JD(U) has so far won two seats and is leading on 42 seats. So far, NDA is leading on 129 seats, Mahagathbandhan on 103 seats, BSP on 2 seats, AIMIM on 4 seats, LJP on 2 seats and Independents on 3 seats.

As counting of votes is still underway in Bihar elecitons, and bypolls which took place in a number of states, the election commission is likely to hold a press conference at 6 pm.

Though the counting of votes is still underway, the election commission has declared the first results of polls. It declared RJD's Lalit Yadav has won Darbhanga Rural. Meanwhile, NDA is leading on 129 and Mahagathbandhan is ahead on 103.

Manoj Jha, RJD MP said, "We will see you in a few hours and will prove that we did what we had said." The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is ahead on 105 seats, behind NDA which is leading on over 127 seats.

It has been clarified time and again that EVMs are robust and tamper-proof. Supreme Court upheld integrity of EVMs more than once. EC had also offered EVM challenge in 2017. Integrity of EVMs is without any doubt and merits no further clarification, says Dy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain 

A BJP supporter blows a conch shell, others cheer at party office as NDA is leading as per the latest Election Commission trends.

In Keoti Assembly seat, BJP leader Murari Mohan Jha is leading by nearly 3,000 votes over RJD candidate Abdul Bari Siddiqui. 

The JD(U) on Tuesday exuded confidence that the NDA will again form a government in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as trends showed the political alliance marching ahead of the RJD-led Grand Alliance. "I have been saying this for a long time that the NDA will form the government under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar. The opposition ran a misleading campaign with several allurements to woo voters," state JD(U) chief Vashishtha Narayan Singh said.

In Mokama, RJD leader Anant Kumar Singh is ahead of his nearest JDU rival Rajeev Lochan Narayan Singh by a margin of nearly 12,000 votes. 

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shreyasi Singh is leading over her RJD rival Vijay Prakash by a margin of more than 10,000 votes in Jamui. Vijay Prakash is the outgoing MLA from Jamui.

In Sasaram Vidhan Sabha seat of Rohtas district, RJD candidate Rajesh Kumar Gupta has taken comfortable lead over his nearest JDU rival Ashok Kumar by 6,000 votes. Ashok Kumar quit the RJD just ahead of the elections and joined the JDU.

The counting votes in the Bihar assembly election will continue till late evening, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, HR Srinivas, said on Tuesday. Around 4.10 crore votes were cast and 92 lakh votes have been counted so far, Srinivas told news agency ANI. He said the rounds of counting are now up from 26 to 35 rounds. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HAM chief and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, who was earlier trailing RJD's Uday Narain Choudhary, now leads by over 2,400 votes in Imamganj seat.

Bihar minister and BJP leader Brij Kishor Bind leads over BSP rival Md Hamza Khan by 321 votes in Chainpur seat.

Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM was ahead in three seats, BSP in one and Independents (7).

Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya has alleged that EVMs were hacked in Bankipore. She has secured just 502 votes. Three-time BJP MLA Nitin Nabin has taken comfortable leader from here.

Only 11% votes have been counted till 11.30 am. The NDA has an edge as it leads by a thin margin over the RJD. The BJP is predicted to be the single largest party. 

Senior Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi on Tuesday said that Nitish Kumar will continue as the Chief Minister of Bihar even if the BJP wins more seats that the JDU. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Bihar minister and BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav, who was initially trailing Pravin Singh of Congress, now leads by over 3,600 votes in Patna Sahib seat. 

JD(U)'s Shagufta Azim is leading from Araria. His elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav has secured a lead of nearly 150 votes over JD(U)'s Raj Kumar Ray in Hasanpur seat.

Congress leader Udit Raj questions "when the direction of the devices going towards Mars and moon can be controlled from the Earth then why can't the EVMs be hacked?".

As per the Election Commission's trends, the Vikassheel Insaan Party is leading on 7 seats. The VIP is a constituent of the NDA. It contested elections on 11 seats. The BJP had offered 11 seats from its quota of 121.

The Election Commission of India will hold a press conference scheduled at 1.30 pm today. ECI officers, including Deputy Election Commissioners Sudeep Jain, Chandrabhushan Kumar and Ashish Kundra, will brief the media virtually.

JD(U) workers have gathered outside the party office in Patna to celebrate. Trends show that the JDU-BJP alliance is likely to return to the power.

According to the ECI trends, the BJP is emerging as the single largest party. The party is ahead on 74 seats while its ally JDU is leading in 47 seats. The RJD is the second largest party with 59 seats. 

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav is leading in Hasanpur seat by 

Raghopur: Tejashwi Yadav leads over BJP's Satish Kumar

Parsa: RJD candidate Chhote Lal Ray leads. JDU's Chandrika Roy trails

Hasanpur: Tej Pratap Yadav leads

Sasaram: RJD's Rajesh Kumar Gupta leads over JDU's Ashok Kumar

Patna Sahib: Congress candidate Pravin Singh leads over BJP's Nand Kishor Yadav

Bankipore: BJP's three-time MLA Nitin Nabin takes comfortable lead

The NDA has taken a comfortable lead over the opposition's grand alliance.

NDA: 132 seats (BJP 74, JDU 51)

Grand Alliance: 98 seats (RJD 57, Congres 21) 

LJP - 4 seats

AIMIIM - 2 seats

Celebrations started outside the BJP office in Patna as the ruling NDA widens gap with the opposition's grand alliane. The NDA is ahead on 133 seats while the grand allianec on 97 seats.

According to the trends, RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav trails behind JD(U)'s Raj Kumar Ray by 1,365 votes in Hasanpur seat.

Congress leader Luv Sinha trails BJP's Nitin Nabin by 1,200 votes in Bankipur seat. Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya Choudhary bags only 121 of 3,860 votes counted so far.

JD(U)'s Sunil Kumar leads over Pravesh Kumar Mishra of Congress by nearly 2,500 votes in Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha bypoll.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav maintains leads in Raghopur seat by a margin of 455 votes

JD(U)'s Arun Manjhi leads CPI-ML's Gopal Ravidas by 835 votes in Phulwari constituency

Subhashini Raj Rao, Sharad Yadav's daughter, trailing in Bihariganj assembly seat. 

The ruling NDA and the opposition Grand Alliance are locked in a neck-and-neck fight in Bihar.

NDA - 130 seats 

Grand Alliance - 104 seats 

LJP - 5 seats

Pappu Yadav is trailing in Madhepura Assembly seat. Yadav heads the Jan Adhikar Party - Loktantrik (JAP-L). He is also the chief ministerial face of the newly-formed Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA). 

LJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad Singh alias Ashok Singh is leading in Surajgarha seat. 

In Lakhisarai, NDA candidate and minister Vijay Kumar Sinha is leading.

Nitish Kumar, who is seeking fourth consecutive victory, has been sitting at the helm of state's affair since 2005. He has taken oath as the CM five times -- 2000 (8 days), 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2017. But Nitish never took oath as a member of the Legislative Assembly. Nitish is a member of the Legislative Council, the Upper House in the state legislature. He contested election for the time in 1977 from Harnaut seat, but lost. Nitish again contested Assembly election in 1985 recording victory from Harnaut in Nalanda. 1985 was the last Assembly election he contested. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

In Harnaut Assembly seat,LJP candidate Mamata Devi is leading over the incumbent JD(U) candidate Harinarayan Singh. Harnaut is the smae seat where Nitish Kumar had won in 1985. It was his last Legislative Assembly election. 

Congress candidate Shubhanand Mukesh is currently in the lead in the Kahalgaon. Kahalgaon is a part of the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat. Sadanand Singh had won from here in 2015.

HAM's Jitan Ram Manjhi is now trailing Uday Narain Choudhary in Imamganj. The LJP has fielded Shobha Sinha. The polling in Imamganj took place in the first phase of Bihar Election on October 28. 

The BJP-JDU combine and the grand alliance are currently locked in a neck-and-neck fight. The halfway mark is 122 in the Legislative Assembly that comprises 243 chairs. A party or an alliance needs to secure minimum 122 seats to form the government. 

According to the Election Commission tends, the NDA is leading on 52 seats - BJP 28, JDU 20, Vikassheel Insaan Party 4.

The Mahagathbandhan ahead on 46 seats - RJD 29, Congress 12, Left 5

BSP has a lead on two seats, LJP on three while AIMIM is ahead on one 

Tej Pratap Yadav is now trailing from Hasanpur seat in Samastipur district. He is the elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Tej Pratap in 2015 was elected from the Mahua legislative seat.

BJP's Jamui candidate Shreyasi Singh leads over RJD's Vija Prakash by 1,323 votes in early trends. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Avinash Vidyarthi Kumar of the RJD is leading in Munger, where the clashes happened over Durga idol immersion last month. 

Runnisaidpur: JDU leader Pankaj Kumar Mishra leading over RJD's Mangita Devi

Garkha: BJP's Ghyanchand Manjhi ahead

Begusarai: Congress candidate Amita Bhushan leading 

Counting is underway at 55 centres in 38 districts amid tight security.

NDA - 106 seats
RJD - 101 seats 
LJP - 6 seats 
Others - 0 

Trends show that the BJP is ahead of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United). As of now, the BJP is leading in 60 seats, while the JD(U) is ahead in 39 seats.

BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted that the BJP is doing very well across. "It is leading in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and even Telangana by-polls... Not to mention Bihar where, along with its allies, it is doing much better than what the exit polls had predicted... It is not over till its over." 

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nand Kishore Yadav is contesting elections from the Patna Sahib Assembly seat. Trends show that he has an edge from here. A clean BJP face in Bihar, Nand Kishore Yadav is seeking to retain the Patna Sahib seat for a seventh consecutive term. The Patna Sahib seat is cosidered a BJP stronghold.

Runnisaidpur: JD(U) leader Pankaj Kumar Mishra is leading over RJD's Mangita Devi

Ramgarh: BSP's Ambika Singh leads

Raghunathpur: RJD leader Harishankar Yadav leads over LJP rival Manoj Kumar Singh

Jhajha: JD(U) candidate Damodar Rawat leads over RJD rival  Rajendra Prasad

Hajipur: BJP's Awadesh Singh leads 

RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a seven-time MLA is trailing from Keoti seat as per latest update. He is seeking an eighth term as an MLA.

RJD leader Rajesh Gupta is ahead in Sasaram. In 2015, Ashok Kumar had won from here on an RJD ticket. He quit the RJD just ahead of the elections this year anf sided with the JDU.

NDA - 92 seats (BJP 53, JDU 35)

Grand Alliance - (RJD 57, Congress 25)

LJP - 2

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is leading in Raghopur by over 700 votes. He is seeking re-elections from here. Tejashwi is also the opposition's CM face. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari said that it appears people in Bihar are counting of votes gets underway in the state. The BJP, he said, will form the next government with the JDU.

Teashwi Yadav supporters gather outside his residence in Patna as counting of votes gets underway. 

In Bankipore seat, BJP's sitting MLA Nitin Nabin is leading over Plurals Party leader Pushpam Priya and Congress' Luv Sinha. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Counting of votes is underway at 55 centres in 38 districts amid tight security. Trends at 9 am below: 

NDA - 62 seats
Grand Alliance - 52 seats 
LJP - 1 seat 

NDA candidate Parshuram Chaubey is leading over his Congress rival Sanjay Kumar Tiwari. The seat is considered a Congress stronghold. Parshuram Chaubey, a BJP candidate, is a former constable who was promoted as a sub-inspector before he decided to go for a voluntary retirement. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

JDU leader Chandrika Roy is trailing Parsa over RJD rival Chhote Lal. The Parsa Assembly seat is located in the Saran district and forms a part of Chhapra Lok Sabha seat. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HAM founder and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi is leading from Imamganj assembly seat in Gaya district. The RJD has given ticket to Uday Narayan Choudhary and LJP has fielded Shobha Sinha. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM is contesting Bihar Election 2020 in alliance with the JDU and BJP. polling in Imamganj took place in the first phase of Bihar Election on October 28. 

JD(U)'s Jai Kumar Singh, a minister in the Nitish cabinet, is trailing from Dinara. A party or an alliance needs to reach the majority mark of 122 to form a government in the state. The LJP has given ticket to BJP turncoar Rajendra Singh from here.

RJD leader and jailed former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejashwi Yadav is leading in Raghopur. He won from here in 2015. Tejashwi, also the opposition's CM face, aggressively tried to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor against the Nitish Kumar government during this election. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Abdul Bari Siddiqui is the RJD's Muslim face. He is contesting elections from the Keoti assembly seat. Initial trends show that Siddiqui is ahead of BJP rival Murari Mohan Jha. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Early trends show that the grand alliance of opposition parties and the ruling NDA are locked in a neck-and-neck fight. The grand alliance comprises Congress, RJD, and Left parties. The alliance is ahead on 15 seats. The NDA comprises JDU, BJP, HAM, and VIP. The NDA is ahead on 15 seats as well. 

Counting is underwat 55 centres across 38 districts. The ECI will declare the results on individual seats at the following websites of Election Commission of India – eciresults.nic.in, eci.gov.in, and results.eci.gov.in

BJP leader Shreyasi Singh is leading in Jamui Assembly seat. She is up against RJD's sitting MLA Vijay Kumar. She joined the BJP just ahead of Assembly elections. The LJP has not fielded anyone from here. 

The RJD is leading in Banka and Mokama Assembly seats. While Jawed Ansari is contesting from Banka, Anant Singh is in the fray from Mokama. Anant had won from here as an independent in 2015.

Counting of votes in Bihar began on Tuesday amid tight security. According to the Election Commission of India, counting is underway at 55 counting centres (414 halls) in 38 districts across the state.

Strong room in Patna being opened for counting of votes. The ECI has increased the number of counting centres to 55 in 38 districts.

In the 2015 assembly elections, the Sasaram Assembly seat was won by Ashok Kumar of the RJD. Kumar quit the RJD just ahead of the Assembly elections 2020 and joined the JD(U). He is up against RJD's Rajesh Kumar Gupta and LJP's Rameshwar Chaurasiya. Chhedi Paswan of the BJP is the present Lok Sabha MP of Sasaram. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Bankipore Assembly seat is witnessing a close contest this time. While BJP has nominated it's sitting MLA, two young debutants are also in the fray -- Luv Sinha from Congreaa and Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Strong room established at Anugrah Narayan College being opened, as counting of votes for Bihar Assembly elections to begin at 8 am. Counting will take place at 55 centres.

Tuesday could be a historic day if the Bihar election results are as predicted in the exit polls which mostly indicate that the opposition Grand Alliance may have an edge over the incumbent NDA. This is probably the first election since 1970 which concluded without three stalwarts - Lalu Prasad, Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Paswan passed away during the election due to prolonged illness while Sharad Yadav is also unwell and Lalu Prasad is in jail due to the fodder scam.

Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari has exuded confidence that the party will form the next government in Bihar. Speaking to India TV ahead of counting of votes, Tiwari said that the party has asked its workers to keep calm and restraint, irrespective of the result. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The key contest in Hasanpur Assembly seat in Samastipur district is between RJD's Tej Pratap Yadav and JDU's Raj Kumar Rai and LJP's Manish Kumar. Tej Pratap Yadav is the elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

RJD leader and jailed former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejashwi Yadav is seeking re-election from Raghopur assembly seat in Vaishali district. Tejashwi, also the opposition's CM face, aggressively tried to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor against the Nitish Kumar government during this election. The Vaishali district is known for being a stronghold of Lalu. The Raghopur seat belongs to his family. But the BJP managed to wrest the seat in the 2010 elections when Satish Kumar defeated Lalu's wife and former CM Rabri Devi. This time again, the BJP has retained its trust in Satish Kumar. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Bihar Legislative Assembly has 243 assembly constituencies and the most keenly watched will obviously be Raghopur in Vaishali district from where Tejashwi Yadav is seeking re-election. Nitish Kumar is a member of the legislative council and has not contested the assembly election.

Congress general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and Avinash Pandey have been sent to Bihar to decide on political activities post poll results after talks with the central leadership. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has made all security arrangements for safe counting of voted. The EC gave 19 companies of paramilitary forces to guard strongrooms. They are the innermost core of counting centres’ security. There are 59 companies of paramilitary forces to maintain general law and order in the state, HR Srinivasa, Bihar Chief Election Commissioner, was quoted as saying by ANI on Monday. “This year we have 55 counting stations compared to normal number of 38 which corresponds to the number of districts in the state. This has been done to increase social distancing,” he added.

Most exit polls have predicted a rout for the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine and a resounding victory for the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) led by RJD's 31-year-old chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, who has thrown down the gauntlet at redoubtable Nitish Kumar, the battle-scarred veteran more than twice his age. The Election Commission is making sure that the winds of potential change cause no disruption in the counting process. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Counting will be taken up at 55 centres across 38 districts where the outcome will decide the fate of the Nitish Kumar government that has helmed the state for a decade and half.