Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Mahagathbandhan's Chief Minister face Tejashwi Yadav, who had been leading in Raghopur since the counting began, is now trailing in his seat. BJP candidate Satish Kumar is now leading by a margin of 1273 votes.
After eight rounds of counting, Yadav maintained a narrow lead of 585 votes over his closest contender, the BJP’s Satish Kumar, as per the Election Commission’s latest update.
So far, Yadav has polled 31,654 votes, while Kumar has secured 31,069. The Jan Suraaj Party’s Chanchal Kumar trailed in third place with 1,016 votes.
Yadav has represented the constituency for a decade, having defeated the BJP’s Kumar in both the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections.
Across the state, the ruling NDA seemed set for a sweeping mandate, establishing strong leads in over 190 seats. Early trends also suggested that the BJP was poised for its highest-ever tally, backed by a robust strike rate.
Counting of votes for all 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar began at 8 a.m. on Friday under heavy security, officials confirmed. Postal ballots were taken up first, followed by counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from 8:30 a.m., as per Election Commission guidelines.
The two-phase elections, held on November 6 and 11, are being seen as a decisive test for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar’s longest-serving leader. Political observers say the outcome could also reflect public sentiment toward the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Counting is taking place at 46 centres across the state’s 38 districts. The Election Commission said over 4,372 counting tables had been set up, each manned by a supervisor, counting assistant, and micro-observer. More than 18,000 counting agents representing candidates are overseeing the process.
Bihar witnessed a record turnout of 67.13 percent, with 7.45 crore eligible voters deciding the fate of 2,616 candidates.