Lok Sabha elections 2024: Bihar exit polls show NDA ahead with BJP predicted to win 17 seats

According to the India TV-CNX Exit Poll, the BJP is projected to win 17 seats, while its ally JD(U) is expected to secure 11-13 seats. BJP's other allies, LJP(RV) and HAM, are likely to get 3-4 seats and one seat, respectively.

Bihar on Saturday (June 1) completed voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. This state, with its 40 parliamentary seats, saw intense competition among major parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal United (JD(U)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Congress.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, comprising BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP)-Ram Vilas, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), faced off against the Opposition bloc INDIA, which includes RJD, Congress, and Left parties such as the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML Liberation), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM).

According to the India TV-CNX Exit Poll, the BJP is projected to win 17 seats, while its ally JD(U) is expected to secure 11-13 seats. BJP's other allies, LJP(RV) and HAM, are likely to get 3-4 seats and one seat, respectively.

On the opposition side, the RJD is predicted to win 3-5 seats, with the Congress possibly settling for one seat.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar also held its voting in seven phases between April 11 and 23. The results saw the BJP winning 17 seats, JD(U) securing 16 seats, LJP getting six seats, and the Congress managing only one seat. In the 2014 elections, the BJP, LJP, and RLSP contested 30, seven, and three seats, respectively, winning a combined total of 31 seats (BJP 22, LJP six, RLSP three).

Exit polls, which are quick surveys conducted immediately after voting, aim to gauge voter sentiments. Unlike pre-election opinion polls, exit polls ask voters who they actually voted for, making them potentially more accurate.

These polls typically start being released right after voting ends on the final election day, and are conducted by interviewing voters as they leave polling stations. In India, exit polls were pioneered by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in Delhi during the 1960s.