Update: 1.15pm
Patna: Nitish Kumar’s Grand Alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress has firmly defeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA in the 2015 Bihar elections.
The Grand Alliance was ahead with 158 seats to the BJP’s 74 in the 243-seat Assembly this Sunday with Bihar making a very important statement for all stakeholders these elections. The Grand Alliance had initially struggled under the ‘weight’ of Lalu Prasad Yadav, but the seasoned RJD supremo turned the tables by mid morning.
A win for the grand alliance will strengthen Nitish politically and he might well emerge as an anti-BJP force at the national level.
This was a crucial test for Narendra Modi who had mounted a no-holds barred campaign in Bihar, addressing some 30 rallies and promising voters billions for development in a state with some of the country’s highest malnutrition and illiteracy levels.
This election was also seen as a critical test of Modi’s popularity after he stormed to power at national polls in May 2014 promising sweeping reforms to revive the faltering economy.
The BJP’s Parliamentary Board is likely to meet tomorrow to analyse the poll results in Bihar where the JD(U)-RJD combine has outshone the party-led NDA.
According to sources, the board is likely to examine all factors leading to the party’s below-par performance against the Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance.
Party leader and Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav said it was for the top brass to analyse and introspect the reasons behind these results.
Update: 10.40am
Patna: Nitish Kumar’s Grand Alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress has firmly taken the reins of Bihar with a decisive lead over rivals BJP and allies. 
The Grand Alliance was ahead with 124 seats to the BJP’s 103 in the 243-seat Assembly this Super Sunday with Bihar set to make a very important statement for all stakeholders these elections. The Grand Alliance had initially struggled under the weight of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, but turned the tables by mid morning.
A win for the grand alliance will strengthen Nitish politically and he might well emerge as an anti-BJP force at the national level.
Ahead of counting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his political partner Lalu Prasad Yadav exuded confidence that they would pull through. “I am not nervous at all since I have done this many times,” said Nitish, while Lalu Prasad beamed a “Good Morning, We are winning” to reporters, saying he had “had a very good night’s sleep”. The usual political banter continued from the other side with one BJP leader quipping whether Lalu should not say a “Good Night”.
Most exit polls had predicted a photo finish, except the News24-Today’s Chanakya poll, which kept the BJP and its allies clearly ahead with 155 in the 243-seat Bihar Assembly. These polls hinted at all possible outcomes – an NDA sweep, a narrow mahagathbandhan win and even a hung Assembly.
The Election Commission has lauded the “historic” turnout in the state these elections. It has been over two decades since voting has been so heavy, it said. The Nitish camp believed such a large turnout would only mean there was no anti-incumbency against the chief minister who was seeking a third term. But whether voters will laud him too much for reviving the fortunes of Lalu Prasad Yadav, remains to be seen.
Votes were locked in 62,780 EVMs with 14,580 officials on duty for the counting process in Patna and other districts, officials said. The fate of 3,450 candidates, including 272 women, will be decided during the day. The five-phase elections started on October 12 and ended on November 5.
The BJP banked on its usual agenda of youth and development though the bitter campaign this past month has also brought up mandal, kamandal, beef, reservation, Pakistan crackers and DNA.
Update: 10.15am
New Delhi: Two hours into counting of votes on Bihar, different TV channels showed different leads of the vote count in Bihar on Sunday, triggering confusion.
There was also confusion with the spokespersons of the BJP as well as the JDU claiming victory.
Times Now showed NDA in the lead with 82 seats, while the Grand Alliance was shown leading with 64 seats and other parties in three.
However, CNN-IBN showed the JDU had crossed the halfway mark while the BJP was ahead in 92 seats.
A trend by India Today TV showed NDA leading with 89 seats, the Grand Alliance with 66 and other parties with three seats.
NDA was also seen leading according to News X channel, with 96 seats, the Grand Alliance with 92 and others with five seats.
Online news websites too showed different leads of the political parties.
Earlier report:
Battle for Bihar: BJP alliance leading
Patna: The BJP-led alliance on Sunday took early but crucial leads as officials counted the millions of votes polled in the Bihar assembly elections, sparking off celebrations by BJP activists.
Election Commission officials said the BJP and its allies were ahead in 25 of the 243 constituencies while the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) combine was ahead in 16 seats where early trends were available.
BJP leaders in both Patna and New Delhi said they were confident of winning the five-phase electoral battle that began on October 12 and ended on November 5.
“I congratulate the people of Bihar for voting for development. The credit goes to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s and (BJP president) Amit Shah’s leadership,” BJP spokesman Kailash Vijayvargiya told the media.
In New Delhi, BJP leaders ordered a huge quantity of sweets, saying they were sure of a victory.
The BJP was leading in 18 seats, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) in five seats and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Ramvilas Paswan and the Rashtriya Lok Sama Party (RLSP) in one seat each.
In the Grand Alliance, the JD-U of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was ahead of its rivals in five seats and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu Prasad in eight seats. The Congress was forging ahead in three seats.
The RJD and the JD-U fielded 101 candidates each and the Congress 41.
The BJP contested 160 seats and its allies the LJP 40, the RLSP 23 and the HAM 20 seats.
Bihar Additional Chief Electoral Officer R. Lakshmanan said the first result was expected after 11 a.m.
IANS and other agencies
