Bihar records highest turnout, Exit Polls predict big win for NDA

Exit Polls on Tuesday predicted a return of the NDA government in Bihar with a big victory over the Mahagathbandhan, and a disappointing show by Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj in its debut outing. The Bihar polls were conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, and the results will be announced on November 14.

While the Matrize Exit Poll forecast the NDA likely getting between 147-167 seats, the Mahagathbandhan 70-90, and the Jan Suraaj between 0-2 seats, Dainik Bhaskar predicted 145-160 seats for the NDA and 73-91 for the Mahagathbandhan.

Two pollsters -- Axis My India and Today's Chanakya -- will release their exit polls on Wednesday. While the People's Insight predicted 133-148 seats for the NDA, 87-102 for the Mahagathbandhan and 0-2 for Jan Suraaj, the People's Pulse gave 133-159 seats to the NDA, 75-101 to the Mahagathbandhan, and 0-5 to Prashant Kishore's party.

The JVC forecast 135-150 seats for the NDA and 88-103 for the Mahagathbandhan. The Polstrat predicted 133-148 seats for the NDA and 87-102 for the Mahagathbandhan. While the Chanakya Strategies gave the NDA 130-138 eats, 100-108 to the Mahagathbandhan, and zero to Jan Suraaj, pollster P-Marq predicted the NDA to win 142-162 seats, Mahagathbandhan 80-98 and Jan Suraaj 1-4. The majority mark in the 243-member Assembly is 122.

Exit poll projections are made by election survey agencies based on interviews of voters as they come out after casting their votes. These may vary widely from the actual results. While the NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) as the major alliance partners, is looking to return to power in Bihar, the opposition INDIA bloc, which has the RJD, the Congress and the Left parties as the main constituents, is looking to form the government with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial face.

Bihar on Tuesday recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 66.91 per cent, provisionally, at close of polling in the second and final phase of the high-stakes elections, seen as a veritable referendum on the state’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.Bihar also recorded the highest female voter turnout in its history. In a statement the Election Commission of India that in the first phase of voting on November 6, female turnout was recorded at 69.04 per cent as compared to 61.56 per cent men.In the second and final phase of voting held on Tuesday, the women voters again turned out in larger numbers at 74.03 per cent against a male voter turnout of 64.1 per cent. The overall male-female ratio stood at 71.6 for women versus 62.8 for men.