Bihar election 2020 LIVE: 34.82% turnout recorded till 1 pm in 3rd phase
Bihar election exit poll 2020: The last phase of Bihar Assembly elections 2020 is underway. Voting across the remaining 78 seats is expected to end at 6 pm today. However, if voters are queued outside polling stations beyond the scheduled time, the polling hours are likely to be extended. According to the guidelines set by the Election Commission of India, pollsters cannot reveal exit polls before voting has concluded in all the constituencies. Hence, exit poll predictions are likely to be announced after 7 pm.
In 2015, under the combined leadership of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, the Mahagathbandhan had stopped the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) juggernaut. The experiment, however, could not last long. In 2017, Nitish switched sides to form a government with the BJP. This election brings a set of different strengths and opportunities for each of the parties in the fray. This year’s contest in Bihar seems to be a direct one between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Mahagathbandhan, with the BJP and the RJD being the main contenders. From the ‘grand alliance’, RJD is contesting in 144 seats, Congress in 70, and CPI(ML) in 19. From the NDA, the JD(U) is contesting in 115 seats and BJP in 110.
In 2015, barring Axis APM, all the pollsters had failed to predict the outcome of Bihar Assembly elections. Today’s Chanakya has forecast a two-thirds majority for the BJP-led NDA with 144-166 seats. NDTV, too, had predicted a BJP-led government in Bihar, the ABP-Nielsen exit poll had foreseen a Grand Alliance victory but failed to anticipate the extent of the success and the BJP’s reduced tally. The India Today-Cicero exit poll and two others had predicted a photo finish.
