Grand Alliance surges ahead: Poll panel

Patna: The Grand Alliance was decisively ahead of BJP-led NDA as votes cast in the Bihar assembly election were counted on Sunday, showed trends in 125 constituencies put out by the election commission at 10.30 a.m.

The Election Commission of India said that the Grand Alliance was way ahead with leads in 77 constituencies, out of 243 seats in the Bihar assembly.

The BJP-led alliance was leading in 43 seats. While Communist Party of India (ML) (Liberation) was leading in one seat, independents were ahead in four places.

Among the principal parties, BJP had a 24.9 percent vote share, while the RJD was next with 18.9 percent, based on the latest trends. The JDU and independents followed with 15.5 percent and 9.9 percent respectively.

The RJD and the JD-U fielded 101 candidates each and the Congress 41.
The BJP contested 160 seats and its allies the LJP 40, the RLSP 23 and the HAM 20 seats.

JD-U hopes to form government in Bihar
Meanwhile the Janata Dal-United on Sunday expressed hope that it will form the next government in Bihar.

"Be it Patna region, Bhagalpur or any other region, we will soon pick up leads and results would be in our favour as the counting proceeds," JD-U spokesperson Nihora Prasad told CNN-IBN.

(IANS)