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Patna, November 14 (IANS) Bihar Assembly elections witnessed a tough fight between BJP and JDU for the status of the largest party on Friday morning. Initial trends show a close contest between the two parties, while NDA has maintained a decisive lead.
According to the Election Commission of India’s 11:15 am update, JD(U) is leading on 79 seats, while BJP is ahead of its ally with 83 seats. Overall, the NDA is leading in 188 constituencies, leaving the grand alliance far behind with 44 seats.
The counting process for all 243 assembly seats began at 8 am, starting with the verification of postal ballots. This was followed by counting of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes from 8.30 am, which took place under elaborate multi-layered security arrangements across the state.
The candidates of both the alliances expressed confidence in their performance. NDA leaders emphasized that the people of Bihar have reposed faith in the guarantees of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the development of the state.
The RJD-led grand alliance claimed that Bihar “voted for change” and expressed hope that Tejashwi Yadav would form the next government.
The counting operations are being monitored by 243 returning officers and an equal number of counting observers appointed by the Election Commission.
More than 18,000 counting agents representing various candidates are present at the centers to closely monitor the process.
Entry into counting centers has been strictly restricted to persons with valid passes, and use of mobile phones inside the counting halls has been completely banned.
More than 70 crore voters participated in the elections, casting their votes to decide the fate of both the ruling NDA and the Grand Alliance. Voting was held in two phases on 6 and 11 November.
In the outgoing assembly, the NDA has 131 seats, which includes BJP’s 80, JD(U)’s 45, HAM(S)’s four and two independents. The opposition faction has 111 seats, of which RJD has 77, Congress has 19, CPI (ML) has 11, CPI (M) has two and CPI has two.
–IANS
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