NEW DELHI: As the high-stakes Bihar assembly election came to a close on Tuesday, pollsters were unanimous in predicting the National Democratic Alliance’s return to power with a convincing majority. If the predictions stand, it will be a huge setback for the Opposition’s Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), which was trying to win the politically crucial state after a gap of 20 years.
The poll of exit polls projected the NDA comprising Janata Dal United JD (U), the BJP, and the LJP(RV) will cross the majority mark by securing 148 seats, giving the RJD-led grand alliance just 88 seats, less than the 110 seats it won in the 2020 election. The majority mark for the 243-seat assembly is 122.
Election strategist Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraaj Party, which was hyped to play a crucial role in this election, may end up with a poor showing, as per exit polls.
The Bihar polls were conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, and the results will be out on November 14. The results will come ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu next year as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls has already begun in these states.
Bihar is the first state to go to polls after the SIR exercise.
Exit poll projections are made by election survey agencies based on interviews of voters as they come out after casting their votes. These may vary from the actual results.