Tight race in Bihar, but Mahagatbandhan has edge over NDA

New Delhi, Nov 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) There is neck-to-neck competition between the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar with the former having an edge as it is predicted to win between 108 and 131 seats, the IANS CVoter Exit Polls predicted on Saturday.

The exit poll also predicted that the NDA is likely to win 104 to 128 seats.

The majority mark in the 243-member Bihar Assembly is 122.

Citing the range of seats, the IANS CVoter Exit Poll predicted that the Mahagathbandhan's RJD may win 81 to 89 seats while the Congress may win 21 to 29 seats.

The exit poll predicted that the CPI may win 1 to 3 seats while CPI (ML) is likely to win on 5 to 7 seats.

As per the exit poll, the NDA's BJP may win between 66 and 74 seats, while its alliance partner JD-U is likely to register victory in 38 to 46 seats, losing a major chunk of seats it had won in the 2015 Assembly polls.

NDA partner HAM is likely to draw a blank, while another of its ally, VIP, is projected to win up to 4 seats.

The exit poll also predicted that the LJP, which decided to go solo in the polls, is likely to win 1 to 3 seats. The LJP contested the 2015 Assembly polls in alliance with the NDA.

The exit poll also predicted that other parties and Independent candidates are set to win 4 to 8 seats.

The third and last phase of polling concluded on Saturday at 6 p.m. The first phase of voting took place on October 28, while the second phase took place on November 3. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The Bihar election is being seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD-U is in alliance with the BJP-led NDA. Nitish Kumar has governed Bihar three times in a row since 2005.

The RJD had won 80 seats in the 2015 Assembly polls, while the JD-U won 71 seats. The BJP had won 53 seats and the LJP managed 2 seats.

Source: IANS