The Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance comprising RJD, Congress and Left Parties has a narrow lead over the NDA in most parts of the state, the IANS CVoter Exit Poll predicted on Saturday.
The Mahagathbandhan comprises Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and the Left Parties, while the NDA comprises the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Bharatiya Janata Party, Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) and Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
According to the IANS CVoter Exit Poll, the Mahagathbandhan, which is likely to win 120 seats, falling two short of the majority mark in the 243-member Assembly, fared well in most of the geographical regions based on district mapping, except the Tirhut region.
The exit poll said that out of the 23 seats in the Anga region, the Mahagathbandhan is likely to win 12 seats while the NDA will bag 11 seats.
Similarly, in Bhojpur's 52 Assembly seats, the Mahagathbandhan may win 26 seats while the NDA is likely to win 23 seats. Three seats in Bhojpur may be bagged by others.
In Magadh region, the Mahagathbandhan and the NDA are in neck and neck fight on 52 seats as both are likely to win 26 seats each.
Out of the 43 seats in Mithila region, the Mahagathbandhan is set to take lead on 22 seats while 20 may be bagged by the NDA, and one by others.
Out of the 24 seats in Seemanchal (or districts close to the Nepal border), the Mahagathbandhan again has an edge over NDA as it is likely to win 14 seats, while the latter may get 10 seats.
The NDA looks strong in Tirhut region, as it likely to win 26 out of 49 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan may win 20 seats and three may go to others.
Going by Lok Sabha mapping, the exit poll gave an edge to Mahagathbandhan over NDA in all regions, except North Bihar.
It said in East Bihar, the Grand Alliance may win 15 out of 27 Assembly seats while 12 are likely to be won by NDA.
In Magadh-Bhojpur region, the Mahagathbandhan may win 34 out of 69 seats, while the NDA is likely to win 32 seats and others 3 seats.
In Seemanchal region, the Mahagathbandhan still has an edge over NDA as it is predicted to win 14 out of 24 seats while 10 seats may be bagged by the NDA.
The NDA, however, is looking to lead in North Bihar as it may win 39 out of 73 seats while the Mahagathbandhan is likely to win on 31 and three seats are likely to be won by others.
Seeing the current predictions, the independent candidates who win the elections may write the fate of the next Chief Ministers of Bihar. While BJP is very good in attracting independent candidates, Tejaswi Yadav has performed exceedingly well.
Most of the exit-polls are in favor of Tejaswi Yadav.
The third and last phase of voting concluded on Saturday at 6 p.m. The first phase of voting took place on October 28 and the second phase on November 3. Counting of votes for the 243-member House will take place on November 10.
In the 2015 Assembly polls, the RJD, Congress, and the JD-U were part of the Mahagathbandhan. However, Nitish Kumar ditched the alliance and joined hands with the NDA in 2017.
SOURCES: IANS