Early trends indicate NDA’s expected dip in Bihar but Opp not a big gainer
After the counting of postal ballots, which gave the NDA an early and comfortable lead, things changed in favour of the Opposition
PATNA: Early trends in Bihar seem to be going on the expected lines, with the NDA seemingly sliding from the peak it had reached in 2019, winning 39 of the 40 seats, and the INDIA bloc showing improvement from the abysmal show last time when it won only one seat.
All exit polls had projected an NDA landslide for its third consecutive term despite some anticipated dip in Bihar due to tough ground realities and RJD’s aggressive campaigning on local issues of poverty and unemployment: It was precisely because the BJP had focused on Bihar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself holding 19 public rallies and road shows. Other senior leaders of the BJP also chipped in.
After the counting of postal ballots, which gave the NDA an early and comfortable lead, things changed in favour of the Opposition as the counting of ballots cast in electronic voting machines (EVMs) got underway.
By 9.30 am, the NDA led on nearly 30 of the 38 seats for which the trend started tricking in, while the Opposition led in seven to eight.
Things could further change as counting progresses and the real picture would start emerging after the half way stage of counting. In Gaya, however, NDA alliance partner HAM-S leader Jitan Ram Manjhi maintained comfortable lead of over 15000 votes.
Some of the leading candidates who seemed to be trailing in early trends included union ministers Giriraj Singh from Begusarai and Nityanand Rai from Ujjiarpur. However, Giriraj Singh snatched lead as counting advanced. RJD’s Rohini Acharya, daughter of Lalu Prasad, also lagged behind in Saran against BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy in early trends.
In Pataliputra’s seat in Patna, where Rajya Sabha member and Lalu Prassd’s daughter Misa Bharti is in the fray against BJP’s Ramkripal Yadav was, there is a close battle. Misa gained early lead, but BJP leaders hoped for a turnaround. In Munger, JD-U’s Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh also maintained early lead.
From Hajipur, Chirag Paswan of the LJP-R maintained early lead, while from Samastipur the youngest candidate Shambhavi Choudhary was caught in a close fight with Sunny Hazari of the Congress. Both the candidates are daughter and son of JD-U ministers Ashok Choudhary and Maheshwar Hazari respectively. Shambhavi was initial ally behind but gained a lead of over 7000 votes.
With 39 seats in its kitty in 2019, the NDA did not have any scope to go further up, while political analysts kept their eyes on how far its tally could fall and whether it would be able to hold on to its 2014 figure of 31 seats.
“Bihar was always going to be tough for the BJP. These are early trends. The results will show if the election had any impact of the caste survey or the anti-incumbency factor. In Bihar. RJD is the main force around which the INDIA. bloc revolved, but the BJP and JD-U together become a strong force,” said political analyst DM Diwakar.