As Bihar awaits the official results of the Assembly election, exit polls released on Tuesday evening paint a clear picture of the contest – one dominated by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with the Mahagathbandhan trailing significantly. Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor’s much-publicised Jan Suraaj campaign appears to have failed to make an impact, with no pollster projecting any seats for his outfit.
Exit Polls Predict NDA Lead
According to the Matrize-IANS exit poll, the NDA is poised to secure between 147 and 167 seats, comfortably above the majority mark in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. The Mahagathbandhan, comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties, is projected to win 70 to 90 seats, while Others are expected to bag 2 to 6 seats.
The Chanakya Strategies exit poll projects a tighter contest, giving the NDA between 130 and 138 seats, and the Mahagathbandhan 100 to 108 – still showing a clear edge for the ruling coalition.
Meanwhile, Pollstrat forecasts an NDA tally of 133 to 148 seats, with the Mahagathbandhan expected to secure 87 to 102 seats, and Others getting 3 to 5.
Jan Suraaj Fails to Register
Despite months of campaigning across Bihar, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj movement appears to have failed to resonate with voters. None of the major exit polls have allotted even a single seat to his fledgling political platform, suggesting that the experiment has struggled to translate public mobilisation into electoral gains.
NDA Maintains Advantage
If the exit poll predictions hold, the NDA – led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United)—is likely to return to power with a comfortable majority.
While the final results will be declared after counting, early projections suggest that Prashant Kishor’s much-anticipated political debut has turned out to be a non-starter, overshadowed by the traditional dominance of Bihar’s two main alliances.
