📷 Image Credits: NDTV
The BJP-led NDA was leading in a majority of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, according to trends available by the Election Commission around noon. The Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) barely five months ago, was ahead of rivals in 14 out of 16 seats it had contested. The BJP, which had contested 17 seats, was leading in 11, while junior ally Lok Janshakti Party was ahead in all the five that it contested. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was leading in five seats out of 23 where it had fielded candidates.
The CPI(ML) Liberation, which contested only three seats, was leading in two, while the Congress was leading in the reserved Sasaram seat. Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, an NDA ally, had established a lead in Gaya. The BJP-led NDA is expected to secure more than 30 seats in Bihar, with various pollsters predicting the outcome. The major election issues in Bihar remain inflation and unemployment, despite national discourse on inheritance tax and reservations. The state has a history of strong political alliances, with the BJP-JD(U)-LJP alliance winning 39 out of 40 seats in the 2019 elections.
