Bihar is set to face a tough battle with the BJP-led NDA pitted against the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. This is the second time the Opposition alliance has come together to defeat the BJP.
In 2014, the BJP held 22 of the 40 seats in the State. Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) are in eight seats. The JD(U) was originally a part of the Mahagathbandhan, but Mr. Kumar resigned as Chief Minister in 2017 and allied with the BJP.
Here are the live updates:
Trends as of 10 a.m
As of 10 a.m., the BJP-JD(U) alliance in Bihar is leading in 32 of the State's 40 Lok Sabha seats. The five-party alliance of the Congress-RJD has managed to bag just 2. The Lok Jan Shakti Party, which has a seat-sharing formula with the BJP-JD(U) alliance is leading in six of the seats.
Exit polls had predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP alliance with 38 seats or so. In the 2014 Parliamentary elections, the BJP-LJP-RLSP combine won 31 seats, with the RJD-Congress-NCP alliance winning 7; the JDU had bagged two and the RJD won 4. The Congress had won two seats and the JD-U, which contested separately had won two as well.