Bihar Election Results 2020 Live Updates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Chief JP Nadda took turns to tweet and congratulate and thank the people of Bihar for the mandate to the NDA.

JP Nadda said: "People of Bihar have put their stamp on Narendra Modi's public welfare policies, performance of development works and the NDA Government's leadership under Nitish Kumar.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told news agency ANI, "Today is a historic day that NDA has won again the extraordinary trust of the people of Bihar. They trusted PM Modi's leadership whose commitment resonated with them that without development of Bihar, development of India will remain incomplete. I have to make only one request to our friends in the opposition. We are dignified in our victory, let them show some grace in their defeat. That is the essence of democracy"

Union Minister Rajnath Singh said, "This is a victory of the NDA's commitment to good governance and development. I express my gratitude to the people of Bihar."

Here's a statistic that Congress party needs to go back to the drawing board with post elections.

The Congress party has scored just 9.54% of the voteshare (till 12:24am) or 39,82,995 votes in the elections.

Now compare to the 18.9% vote share or or 78,79,855 votes that Others received.

Others comprise the third largest entity in the state in terms of voteshare

Most exit polls that had given a clear edge to the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagathbandhan have been forced to bite the dust as the mandate in Bihar swung in favour of the National Democratic Alliance.

The ABP-CVoter exit poll prediction was the closest among all. It had projected 104-128 seats for the NDA and 108-131 seats for the opposition grand alliance.

Here are those whose predictions were off target:

* Chanakya-CNN News18 projected 180 seats for the RJD-led grand alliance, 55 for the NDA and eight for others.

* India Today-Axis My India poll showed the RJD-led opposition was likely to win 139-161 seats, as against 69-91 for the NDA. 

* The ABP-CVoter exit poll predicted 104-128 seats for the NDA and 108-131 seats for the opposition grand alliance. 

* Times Now-CVoter projected 116 seats for the NDA, 120 for the opposition alliance and a single seat for the LJP. 

* Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat exit poll also gave a clear majority to the RJD-led alliance with 128 seats, while it projected 104 seats for the ruling NDA, seven seats for the LJP and four for others.

With the NDA on track to gain majority, Union Home Minister thanked voters for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies.

In a series of tweets, he said: "In these elections, the enthusiasm with which the public have expressed their faith in the policeies of PM Marendra Modi and the NDA is truly amazing. This result not only reflects the faith of the poor, labourers, farmers and youth in the successful fight of the Modi government against Coronavirus, but also a lesson for those who mislead the country."

"I thank the brothers and sisters of the state from the depths of heart for re-choosing development, progress and good governance in Bihar. I especially thank the youth and women of Bihar who formed the NDA government with absolute majority by choosing security and bright future in Bihar."

"Every section of Bihar has once again flagged the development of NDA by rejecting hollow politics, casteism and appeasement politics. This is the victory of the hopes and aspirations of every person in Bihar. This is a triumph of double engine development."

Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress and RJD leaders led by party MP Manoj Jha met the Election Commission to complain of election fraud.

RJD leader Manoj Jha said: "There are over dozens of seats where tampering has been done. They are trying to change the people's mandate, even after all such ill-intended attempts we'll form govt."

Congress leader Akhilesh Singh said: "There are discrepancies. We expect justice from Election Commission" 

Parallely, RJD supporters held a demonstration outside party leader and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi's residence, against CM Nitish Kumar for allegedly influencing counting of votes.

Highlights of Election Commission's third briefing of the day:

* Existing instruction states 'where margin of victory is less than no. of postal ballot papers rejected as invalid at time of counting, rejected postal ballot papers will be mandatorily reverified by returning officer before declaration of result'

* If needed, we will hold a briefing again around midnight for final updates

* About an hour ago, there was a post by a party on social media claiming that their party has won 119 seats. It is to clearly state that all results are on our portal, total results declared as of now are of 146 seats. That is the factual situation.

* Election Commission has never worked under anybody's pressure. All officials and machinery are working sincerely for declaration of the result.

With the three Left parties bagging seven seats and leading in 10 others in Bihar, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury was quoted by news agency PTI as warning naysayers against writing them off, saying had they been given more seats, they would have notched up higher numbers in the elections.

The CPI(ML) won 9 of the 19 seats they fought on and was leading in 3.

The CPI(M), which competed on four seats, won two. 

The CPI, which contested on six seats, won one and was leading in two.

The Left parties contested on 29 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections.

"We were clear from the beginning that we have to defeat the BJP. Our strike rate in Bihar is 80 per cent and if we had been given more seats, we would have contributed more to the Gathbandhan tally. Our alliance with the RJD and Congress combined issues of social justice with that of economic justice. One cannot be achieved without the other," Yechury told PTI.

Election Commission declared results for 82 out of the total 243 seats. 

BJP 23, RJD wins 23, JD(U) 15, Congress 7, CPI(M-L) 5, VIP 2, AIMIM 2, CPI, CPI(M), HAM(S) & Independent 1.

NDA leading on 124 seats
Mahagathbandhan on 112 seats
AIMIM on 5 seats

Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, which was branded as 'vote cutter', looks all set to win five Muslim-dominated seats in the Bihar assembly polls.

AIMIM national spokesperson Asim Waqar told news agency PTI that a final decision on who AIMIM could back in case of a hung assembly will be taken by Owaisi, but ruled out supporting the BJP, asserting that his party’s fight has always been against the saffron party.

AIMIM could play a key role in the formation of the next government in case there is a hung assembly, having captured a sizeable number of seats in the state’s Seemanchal region, which was being seen as a stronghold of the grand opposition alliance.

Party position as of now in Bihar:

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said though the trends of Bihar Assembly election results favour the NDA, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav should be commended for putting up a "gritty" fight.

"The trends so far are in favour of the NDA. I think we did not pay attention to the Bihar election. We (NCP) did not contest because we felt that young leadership in the form of Tejashwi Yadav should come forward," Pawar told reporters, adding: "Tejashwi has put up a gritty fight." 

"We did not get desired results in the Bihar election. There are some reasons for it. What I saw in the entire campaign was that prime minister Narendra Modi himself took a lot of interest in the election. On one side there was a young, inexperienced person like Tejashwi and on the other side there was a person who was chief minister of Gujarat for several years and is now prime minister for the second term. And there was Nitish Kumar who has also been chief minister for several years," Pawar said.

News agency PTI is reporting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the two leaders talked about the Bihar poll results and trends. 

Though the sources refused to divulge the details of their telephonic conversation, they said they discussed the poll results and trends. 

The NDA is marginally ahead of rival Mahagathbandhan, according to the latest Election Commission update on counting of votes

The RJD has just tweeted a major allegation against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The tweet, when translated, says: "In almost 10 seats, the Nitish administration is delaying the count. It is not giving certificates to the winning candidates. Sitting in CM's house, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi are pressurizing CM's Principal Secretary to call all DMs and ROs to get a decision in favour of the nearest contested seats."
 

With the Bihar election counting set to go down to the wire, hectic political developments are underway in Patna.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and BJP incharge for Bihar Bhupender Yadav arrived at the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. 

Also present at the meeting at the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna is minister Mangal Pandey. 

The party situation as on 6:55pm

Manoj Jha, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, has claimed that Nitish Kumar was trying to "delay his defeat" by calling returning officers to slow down the counting of votes

"Bihar is going to get its own government and nobody can stop it."

"I request Chief Minister whose exit is confirmed, to stop calling returning officers to slow down the counting of votes." 

"He can only delay his defeat" 
 

Highlights from the Election Commission briefing

* On the whole 7737 scheduled rounds are there, of which 4858 have been completed. 

* 119 constituencies have done more than half of the work which was there for counting

* There are 18 constituencies where margin of difference is less than 1000 votes

* There are 50 constituencies where margin of difference is between 1000 and 5000 votes

* There are 60 constituencies where margin of difference is between 5000 and 10,000 votes

* There are 108 constituencies where margin of difference is over 10,000 votes

* Two-third of the votes have been counted so far. 

* 62.5% votes counted so far

* Next EC media briefing at 10pm

* Most results will come in by tonight.

First they blamed the EVM, now they are blaming AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Congress is groping in the dark for answers for its yet another catastrophic election campaign.

And they seem to have an explanation for the party leading in only 18 of the 70 seats they contested in the Bihar Assembly elections -- that the BJP used Owaisi to cut into its votes.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, saying: "BJP's tactic of using (Asaduddin) Owaisi Sahab's party in the Bihar elections has succeeded to an extent. All secular parties should be alert about vote cutter Owaisi Sahab."

Okay, so the gap between the BJP and the RJD is now narrowing. 

While both parties have scored two wins each till last reports came in, BJP and RJD are ahead in 74 and 68 seats respectively.

RJD supporters had claimed that the 'lantern' will shine bright as the counting goes late into the evening.

Is there another twist in the plot here?

With the NDA leading in 128 of the 243 seats in Bihar assembly, BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal said there is no dispute regarding who will lead the government if the alliance returns to power in the state. A party or a coalition requires 122 seats to form the government in Bihar.

"The issue has been cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P Nadda much before the elections," he said, while responding to a query whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will lead the NDA government if the alliance secures a majority in the assembly.
 

RJD's Lalit Yadav wins Darbhanga Rural

NDA leading on 133 - BJP 75, JDU 48, VIP 5, HAM 3

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 100 - RJD 62 (1 seat won) Congress 21, Left 17

BSP leading on 2, AIMIM on 4, LJP on 1 & independents on 4

Even as the current trends give the NDA an advantage, the RJD is still confident that the Mahagathbandhan will form the government in the state.

Stating that Bihar has voted for change, the RJD tweeted out a message to all candidates and counting agents to remain in the hall until the process is completed

The party situation this moment: 

Trends are now showing the NDA gaining 7 seats more that what it got in 2015 even though the BJP is poised to be the largest alliance partner instead of the JD-U in 2020.

Trends show the BJP gaining 23 seats more, while the JD-U stands to lose 19.

Trends also indicate that the Mahagathbandhan tally now falling below the three figure mark with both the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress losing ground to the NDA. 

But it's still to early to say anything.

Bihar Chief Electoral Officer HR Srinivas: "Around 4.10 crore votes were cast, 92 lakh votes counted so far. Earlier there used to be 25-26 rounds of counting, this time it went up to around 35 rounds. So the counting will continue till late evening."

"In some Assembly Constituencies (ACs) there are fewer polling stations, counting will conclude in 24-25 rounds. But we also have some ACs, where there will be 50-51 rounds. On average, we'll have 30-35 rounds of counting per AC"

Highlights of the Election Commission media briefing

* Difference of just 200 votes on 8 seats

* Difference of just 1000 votes on 52 seats

* Counting pending in 1.2 lakh EVMs

Highlights of the Election Commission media briefing

* More than 1 crore votes counted in Bihar.

* Significant ground yet to be covered

* 1.06 lakh EVMs to be counted overall

* Counting underway in 55 locations

The BJP-Janata Dal (United) is heading to yet another victory in the Bihar assembly elections 2020.

But unlike last time, the BJP is leading the NDA. The party is poised to win more seats that alliance partner JD-U.

So will the BJP want to have its own CM at the post? 

For now, JDU Bihar unit president Bashistha Narain Singh says Nitish will be CM and BJP will keep its promise.

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The Left parties are staging a strong comeback in Bihar. 

As per trends, the Left parties, which fared poorly in the 2015 elections, are leading in nearly 20 seats in Bihar. 

Trends show the CPI (M-L) contested on 14 seats, and the CPI and CPM on 3 and 2 seats respectively.

The Left, once a major political force in Bihar, was reduced to the margins in the last two Assembly elections. In 2010, only CPI managed to win a seat while in 2015, CPI(ML) grabbed three seats as the other two Left parties drew blank.

Facing yet another poll rout, Congress has gone back to the EVM hacking claim.

"EVMs should go even if Congress wins. If one can control satellite on Moon & Mars from ground,then what is EVM in front of them? During recent Haryana polls, few boys were caught hacking EVMs through bluetooth. I'm saying it for all polls, not just Bihar," says Congress leader Udit Raj

And here's EC immediate clarification by Dy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain: "It has been clarified time and again that EVMs are robust & tamper-proof. Supreme Court upheld integrity of EVMs more than once. EC had also offered EVM challenge in 2017. Integrity of EVMs is without any doubt & merits no further clarification." 

As latest trends put the BJP ahead of the opposition, BJP's Asansol MP Babul Supriyo took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Taking to Twitter, Babul Supriyo termed the Mahagathbandhan or MGB as "Mar Gaye Bhai". 

"Tejaswi calls Rahul Gandhi and says: MGB = Mar Gaye Bhai !! and I am saying it very seriously, yes all puns are very much intended. How dare people on Jail and Bail think that Bihar will forget all that?" he posted on Twitter.

As per the current leads, the BJP is the single-largest party in Bihar. 

While the saffron party has managed a vote share of 19.9%, RJD has managed a vote share of 22.9%. JD(U) has 15.6 per cent, while Congress has 9.25 per cent and LJP has 6.3 per cent. 

EC trends for 241 of 243 seats: 

NDA leading on 130 seats - BJP 70, JDU 53, Vikassheel Insaan Party 6, HAM-1

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 99 seats - RJD 60, Congress 20, Left 19

BSP and AIMIM have a lead on one seat each, LJP on 4 & independents on 5 

Congress candidate and son of senior Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha Luv Sinha trails BJP's Nitin Nabin by 1,200 votes in Bankipur seat. Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya Choudhary bags only 121 of 3,860 votes counted so far.

On why he chose the Congress for his poll debut when he could have opted for a party like the RJD which has a wider presence in Bihar, the 37-year-old had said, "It is not just me choosing the Congress, it is also the Congress choosing me."

The ruling NDA is marching towards the half-way mark in Bihar. 

Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, however, has fallen far behind ally BJP and the saffron party has emerged as the single largest party in the contest. 

LJP's Chirag Paswan could emerge as kingmaker, as the party is now leading on 5 seats

With over 6% vote share, the results could give a huge boost to the political career of Chirag Paswan.

Election Commission trends for 219 of 243 seats: 

NDA leading on 115 seats - BJP 60, JDU-49, Vikassheel Insaan Party-5, HAM-1

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 93 seats - RJD 59, Congress 19, Left 15

BSP leading on one seat, LJP on 4, while AIMIM is ahead on 1 & independents on 5

Election Commission trends for 200 of 243 seats: 

NDA leading on 102 seats - BJP 54, JDU-42, Vikassheel Insaan Party-5, HAM-1

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 88 seats - RJD 57, Congress 17, Left 14

BSP leading on one seat, LJP on 4, while AIMIM is ahead on 2 & independents on 3
 

Election Commission trends for 176 of 243 seats

NDA leading on 87 seats - BJP 48, JDU 34, Vikassheel Insaan Party 5

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 80 seats - RJD 54, Congress 14, Left 12

Lok Jan Shakti Party has taken lead on 4 seats while BSP and AIMIM are ahead on one each (As of 10.30 am)

Eelection Commission trends for 133 of 243 seats

NDA leading on 66 seats - BJP 35, JDU 26, Vikassheel Insaan Party 5

Mahagathbandhan ahead on 61 seats - RJD 40, Congress 14, Left 7

BSP has a lead on two seats, Lok Jan Shakti Party on three while AIMIM is ahead on one (As of 10.18 am)

BJP spokesman Sambit Patra's response on initial trends: "Anti-incumbency expected after 15 years of governance. But the trends show there's no anti-incumbancy."

"Poll pundits predicted a clean sweep for the Mahagathbandhan. That too hasn't happened."

Going by the trends so far, the exit polls have been way off target.

According to trends, the Mahagathbandhan and the National Democratic Alliance are leading on 111 seats each.

Party situation as on 9:50am

Here's an interesting fact that has come up.

The RJD may be way ahead in terms of the number of seats the party is leading on, but with regard to the vote share the BJP is ahead of the rest. Check this infographic

Supporters have started gathering outside Tejashwi Yadav's residence after RJD made significant gains in the counting of votes. 

To recall, the supporters of Tejashwi have already termed him as the youngest chief minister of the state.

Also, posters calling him the next chief minister have also been seen on the streets of Patna.

Party situation as on 09:10AM

Bharatiya Janata Party on initial trends: "Let's wait for some more time."

"It's too early to say who's winning," said a BJP spokesman.

Party-wise scenario at 8:55AM

The seat situation in Bihar as of 08:45AM

The Bihar vote count: Party situation as on 8:35AM

Initial trends show that the Mahagathbandhan has taken a lead with the RJD ahead of the Congress in the alliance. 

it is still early to make a projection, as the postal ballots are being counted the moment.

The Lok Janshakti Party is ahead only on one seat at the moment,

Earlier today, supporters of Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party organised a havan for Nitish kumar's defeat and praying for BJP and LJP's victory in the election.

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The counting of votes in Bihar is underway. Asianet Newsable will keep you ahead with the latest information as it comes in.

The counting of votes and results on individual seats will be declared live at the following websites of Election Commission of India – eciresults.nic.in, eci.gov.in, and results.eci.gov.in.

The term of the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly comes to an end on 29 November. Of the total strength, 38 seats are reserved for SCs and two for STs.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting, by setting up 55 counting centres in 38 districts across Bihar, with 414 counting hall set up.

Three counting centres each have been set up in four districts of East Champaran (which has 12 assembly constituencies), Gaya (10 seats), Siwan (eight constituencies) and Begusarai (seven constituencies).

Rashtriya Janata Dal, which is riding high on the back of exit polls showing an advantage for the Mahagathbandhan, is confident that the Bihar elections will send a strong message across the country.

Speaking to reporters, RJD spokesman Manoj Jha said: "In some hours, a young face will emerge (as chief minister). Bihar will send a message to the country."

JD-U is confident of proving the pollsters wrong.

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JDU spokesman Rajiv Ranjan said: "People will bless the National Democratic Alliance and bring the Nitish Kumar-led government back to power." 

"We are confident of a victory."

"Exit polls have been wrong in the past. Pollsters will be proved wrong again, and people who have seen the development at the ground level have voted for the Nitish Kumar government."

The counting process is underway with strong rooms where the EVMs have been stored being opened. The EVMs will be taken to counting centres where the vote-count will get underway at 8am

The grand alliance of the BJP and the Janata Dal-United faced resistence not just from the Mahagathbandhan of the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but also from Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party.

Even though he has refused to cross swords with the BJP, Chirag openly declared war against Nitish and vowed to have him dislodged from the chief minister's post.

So what led to the fallout between Nitish Kumar & Chirag Paswan? Click HERE to read

From jobs to job creation, from incentives to farmers to waiving off loans of farmers, from quality education to more education institutions, from empowering women to enabling finance of women... political parties left no stone unturned to woo the electorate.

Here's what they offered the people of Bihar this election

Exit polls telecast on Saturday evening by major television networks after the final phase of voting for the Assembly elections in Bihar, predicted an advantage for Mahagathbandhan. 

Most exit polls gave the RJD-Congress-Left alliance a clear edge over the JD(U)-BJP coalition in the 243-member Assembly. All polls predicted that Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, which contested alone and hoped to play a key in government formation post elections, would end up with single-digit seats.

Many exit polls also predicted that the the BJP could get more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U

The main contest in the state is between the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance and the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan. 

The NDA comprises the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two smaller parties,the Hindustan Awami Morcha (HAM) and the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP). 

The MGB comprises the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, and the three Left parties, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India Marxist Leninist (Liberation). 

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is a part of the NDA at the Centre, is fighting these elections outside the NDA fold, primarily on an anti-Nitish plank. Here are a few points which should be kept in mind while looking at the results today.
 

The election regulatory body has also stepped up the security arrangements at the centres and has deployed 59 companies of paramilitary forces to maintain general law and order in the state. 

The Election Commission gave 19 companies of paramilitary forces to guard strongrooms. They are the innermost core of counting centres’ security.

While most exit polls have predicted a big win for Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and the Left parties, incumbent Nitish Kumar is looking to retain power and the Chief Minister's chair for another term.

But supporters of Tejashwi are already celebrating. Excited with the exit poll predictions, RJD workers on Monday put up posters in Bihar, wishing the "to-be chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav" on his birthday.

“Here is wishing Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar’s youngest chief minister to be, a very happy birthday,” the posters read.

Accoring to reports, if 31-year-old Tejashwi does becomes the chief minister, he will be the youngest person to have ever held the top post in any state in the country. In 1967, MOH Farook became the chief minister of Union territory of Puducherry at the age of 29. Satish Prasad Singh, at the age of 32, became the chief minister of Bihar in 1968.

The counting of votes in the Bihar assembly elections will begin early on Tuesday. The counting of votes will begin at 8am. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting, by setting up 55 counting centres in 38 districts across Bihar, with 414 counting hall set up.

Three counting centres each have been set up in four districts of East Champaran (which has 12 assembly constituencies), Gaya (10 seats), Siwan (eight constituencies) and Begusarai (seven constituencies).

In the first phase, 71 seats spread across 16 districts went to poll on 28 October (1,066 candidates), while in the second, voters in 94 seats of 17 districts exercised their franchise on 3 November (1,463 candidates). In the third phase, 78 seats spread in 15 districts went to polls on 7 November (1,204 candidates).

As per the guidelines set up the Election Commission due to the coronavirus pandemic, no more than 7 counting tables will be allowed in the counting halls, to maintain social distancing.