Patna: The ruling NDA was leading in 166 seats, surpassing the majority mark of 122, in early trends as counting was underway for the Bihar assembly polls Friday morning, according to the Election Commission.
The opposition INDIA bloc was way behind, leading in 59 of the 243 seats in the assembly.
The tally is likely to change with several rounds of counting still left.
The BJP was leading in 72 seats, its ally JD(U) in 71, the LJP(RV) in 18, the HAM (S) in four, and the RLM was leading in one seat after the first few rounds of counting.
In the opposition bloc, the RJD was leading in 43 seats, the Congress in eight, the CPIM (L) Liberation in six, and the CPI and CPI(M) in one seat each.
The Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party and the Mukesh Sahani-helmed VIP are trailing in all the seats they have contested.
Among the prominent candidates, singer-turned-politician Khesari Lal Yadav of RJD was trailing in Chhapra assembly, and BJP nominee Maithili Thakur, also a singer, was leading in Alinagar.
RJD’s Osama Shahab, the son of gangster-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, was leading in Ragunathpur, and state minister Leshi Singh of the JD(U) was ahead in Dhamdaha.
INDIA bloc’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD was leading in Raghopur, and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP was ahead in Tarapur.
Another Deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, was leading in Lakhisarai, and JJD founder Tej Pratap Yadav was at the fourth spot in Mahua, with LJP(RV)’s Sanjay Kumar Singh leading in the seat.
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