Gaya (Bihar) [India], November 14 : With the National Democratic Alliance decisively moving past the majority mark as counting progressed in the Bihar Assembly elections on Friday, Union Minister and HAM(S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi said the emerging numbers confirmed the coalition's "thumping mandate" and place Nitish Kumar on course to return as Chief Minister.
As the counting of votes progressed across all districts of Bihar, the NDA registered a clear and steady lead, moving towards a landslide victory under the partnership between PM Modi and Nitish Kumar.
Speaking to ANI here, Union Minister and HAM(S) custodian Jitan Ram Manjhi said the trends were in line with the alliance's expectations, noting that they had maintained from the outset that the NDA would secure a decisive public mandate.
"This is not unexpected. We were saying from the beginning that NDA will form the Government with a thumping majority and Nitish Kumar will be the CM. We are heading towards that. Going by the trends, we will not be anywhere less than 160 seats. They (Mahagathbandhan) will be restricted to 70-80 seats. Nitish Kumar hi banenge mukhyamnatri...," Manjhi said.
Two-phase polling was held on November 6 and November 11 for all 243 seats of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
Election Commission data through the morning and afternoon showed the NDA maintaining its lead across multiple regions, while the Mahagathbandhan fell significantly behind the alliance's pace.
Futher, NDA crossed the majority mark and is leading on 185 seats with JD(U) leading in 76, BJP leading in 83, LJP(RV) leading in 22, and HAMS leading in 4 seats.
Janata Dal (United) supporters celebrated outside the party office in Patna as early trends indicated a landslide victory for the National Democratic Alliance in the assembly elections.
The JD(U) workers exchanged sweets and cherished the moment. Party leader Chotu Singh congratulated CM Nitish Kumar, stating that they are celebrating Holi and Diwali at the party office.
"We congratulate Nitish Kumar. The people of Bihar have made Nitish Kumar victorious. We will celebrate Holi, Diwali here," he said.
The 2025 Bihar Assembly polls were considered as the litmus test for serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. However, Nitish Kumar has managed to steer the politics of Bihar around him in every Bihar election in the past over 20 years.