The Bihar election counting process is still underway and so far incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA alliance is leading the polls after crossing the halfway mark of 122 Assembly seats. The ECI trends for 238 out of 243 seats show the NDA is leading on 127 seats while the Mahagathbandhan has secured 106 seats so far.
The key candidates in Bihar Election 2020 include Tejashwi Yadav, his brother and RJD leader Tej Pratap Singh, RJD's Chandrika Rai, Pushpam Priya Choudhary of Plurals Party, Luv Sinha, son of Shatrughan Sinha, BJP's Nand Kishore Yadav, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, BJP's Nitin Nabin, Jan Adhikar Party-Loktantrik chief Pappu Yadav, Speaker and JDU's Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Sharad Yadav's daughter Suhasini Yadav, BJP's Shreyasi Singh, JDU's Manju Verma.
According to the early counting trends, both Yadav brothers, Tejaswi and Tej Pratap are leading in their respective constituencies. Anant Singh of the RJD is also leading from his seat in Mokama.
Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary of JDU is trailing RJD's Arbind Kumar Sahni from Sarairanjan. Former Bihar minister Kumari Manju Varma of the JD(U) is trailing from the Cheria Bariarpur seat in Bihar with Raj Vanshi Mahto of the RJD leading by over 7,000 votes in early trends.
Luv Sinha contesting from Congress Party is also trailing behind BJP candidate Nitin Nabin in the Bankipur constituency. Exit polls had earlier projected a win for the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance in the state. However, Mahagathbandhan is lagging behind the NDA according to current counting trends.
Officials said trends and declaration of results might be prolonged in comparison to the last time's Assembly elections as the polling stations have gone up by 45% to ensure safety precautions and adherence to the social distancing in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
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