Bihar Assembly Election Results 2020: A Chief Minister fighting his last election versus a young leader making his way to the top – this is what Bihar Assembly Election 2020 was all about and the end result will be known by evening on Tuesday. With a total of 243 Assembly seats up for grabs, stakes are high for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who will face the anti-incumbency test against multiple rivals, including former CM Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav.
Counting of votes for the three-phase elections in Bihar will begin at 8 AM and the first trends will start coming in by 10 AM. Almost all exit polls have projected a clear edge for Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan, although some predicted the results end up in a hung assembly.
The Election Commission has already made elaborate arrangements and even increased the number of vote-counting stations to 55, with 414 halls, as opposed to the usual 38, corresponding to 38 districts of Bihar. This has been done to ensure social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Where to watch Bihar Election Results LIVE)
Security arrangements have also been beefed up ahead of counting day as the EC deployed at least 59 companies of paramilitary forces, expecting frenzy in certain parts of the state, especially after the poll predictions.
Apprehending that rivals might indulge in “foul play” following encouraging exit polls predictions in favour of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) with RJD, Congress has asked its senior leaders to be in their place in all the 38 districts and keep a close watch over the EVMs kept in the strongrooms for vote counting.
The party has sent top leaders including general secretary Randeep Surjewala and Avinash Pande, chairman of the BPCC screening committee, to Patna for proper coordination with the allies and possibly also to keep its flock together after the results are declared.
Meanwhile, all eyes are set on the result in Raghopur constituency where RJD chief Tejashwai Yadav is seeking re-election.
Tejashwi, in the absence of his father Lalu Prasad, spearheaded the RJD campaign in Bihar and if things go as predicted he may even become the youngest Chief Minister of the state. The 31-year-old is already being addressed as “Bhavi Mukhyamantri“.
At the same time, the elections this year also introduced us to the children of Sharad Yadav, and Ram Vilas Paswan. Sharad Yadav’s daughter Subhashini joined Congress days ahead of the elections and in her first plunge into politics, she is contesting from Bihariganj in Madhepura.
Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan, who lost his father Ram Vilas Paswan recently, charted a new route separating from the NDA alliance to challenge Nitish Kumar. His party, the LJP, decided to fight separately in the absence of his father and his political strategy may pay dividends in the future.
The majority mark in Bihar Assembly is 122.
While Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is eyeing for another term as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), it will be interesting to see what his fate beholds. It must be noted here that exit polls have got it wrong many times in the past.