Counting of votes in Bihar’s high-stakes assembly election begins at 8 a.m., as the state decides whether Nitish Kumar wins a record fifth term or Tejashwi Yadav leads the opposition back to power.

Bihar recorded a historic 67.13% turnout in the two-phase election to its 243-member assembly on November 6 and 11, as women outnumbered men at the polls, voting 71.78% to 62.98%.

The Election Commission has set up 46 counting centres across 38 districts, where ballots will decide the fate of 2,616 candidates. The polls followed a contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls that drew scrutiny ahead of voting.

Exit polls have widely predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which includes the JD(U), unsettling the opposition Mahagathbandhan — a coalition of the RJD, Congress and Left parties. According to DeKoder, the accuracy of exit polls in Bihar stands slightly lower at 71%, compared with the national average of 79%.

For the NDA, today’s results will test the BJP and JD(U) as they seek to overcome anti-incumbency, while Nitish Kumar — Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister — looks to remain the alliance’s principal leader in the state.

For the Mahagathbandhan, led by Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD — one of the longest-serving opposition parties in recent times despite brief stints in power — the 2025 Bihar assembly election marks a decisive moment for leaders long waiting to return to government.

Attention will also turn to Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, contesting its first election to test whether it can emerge as a lasting political force or fade as a one-time experiment.