NEW DELHI: Counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly elections will begin today (Friday), November 14, at 8 am local time. The second and final phase of polling, held on November 11 across all 243 constituencies, witnessed a record voter turnout of 68.94 per cent — the highest in Bihar’s electoral history. In the first phase, conducted on November 6 in 121 constituencies, the turnout stood at 64.66pc, significantly higher than 57.29pc recorded in 2020. A total of 122 seats are required to form the government in the 243-member state assembly. The key contest is between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), led by Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress Party. According to election analysts and 11 exit polls, most predict a clear majority for the NDA. Only Axis My India has projected a close contest, estimating the NDA to win 121–140 seats and the Mahagathbandhan 98–118 seats, with a narrow 2pc vote margin (NDA 43pc, MGB 41pc). NDTV’s exit poll forecasts the NDA securing around 146 seats, Mahagathbandhan 92, and Jan Suraaj Party one seat. Across various polls, the RJD is expected to emerge as the single largest party with 67-76 seats, followed by JD(U) 56-62, BJP 50-56 and Congress 17-21. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) may improve from 43 seats in 2020 to 56-62, while the BJP could see a decline from 74 to 50-56 seats, dispelling speculation of internal rifts within the NDA. Analysts, however, caution that exit polls are not always accurate, and the final picture will emerge only after counting concludes on Friday evening or early Saturday.