At least 9 exit polls have predicted a victory for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar Elections 2025 held in two phases this month.
Yet, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has emerged as the most popular chief ministerial face in the state, according to one exit poll.
People’s Pulse has predicted that the NDA will win 133-159 seats, the Mahagathbandhan 75-101 and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party 0-5, indicating that the ruling alliance will comfortably win a majority.
On preference as the chief minister. The pollster found Tejashwi Yadav to be more popular than Nitish Kumar, the Janata Dal United supremo, who has been on the hot seat for about two decades now.
According to People’s Pulse, the RJD leader has received 32 per cent of the votes. Tejashwi is contesting the elections as the opposition CM face. The JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were a close second at 30 per cent in the exit. This comes amid reports of Kumar’s failing health. Union Minister Chirag Paswan of the LJP (Ram Vilas) and Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor received 8 per cent of the votes each in the exit poll.
Paswan has been active in politics in Bihar and centre. His father Ram Vilas Paswan was a veteran leader from Bihar and also a union minister. Prashant Kishor, former election strategist, formed the party and contested Bihar elections. Most exit polls, however, predicted that Kishor’s party will end up with between zero and five seats.
Remember, Exit Poll results have proven wrong most of the times. The actual results of the Bihar elections will be declared on 14 November.
BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary got 6 per cent while Rajesh Kumar, the president of the Congress in Bihar, managed to get only 2 per cent as Chief Ministerial preference.
The exit polls released on Tuesday, predicted that the NDA, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-United (JDU) to win big with 133-167 seats in the 243-member House. The majority mark stands at 122.
The Mahagathbandhan, or the Grand Alliance comprising the RJD, the Congress, and the Left, is projected to win anywhere between 73 and 102 seats, according to the exit polls. Debutant Jan Suraaj Party led by Prashant Kishor is projected to secure 0-5 seats.
The ruling NDA sought re-election, banking on the 20-year rule of Nitish Kumar in the state and the 11-year rule of the PM Modi government at the Centre in the Bihar Election 2025 held in two phases on 6 and 11 November. The opposition Mahagathbandhan sought votes on anti-incumbency, misgovernance and job promises.