Patna:
Counting has begun to determine who shall be at the helm of Bihar for the next five years. Will, as projected, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and its allies sweep the Assembly polls or will Lalu Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan manage a rearguard victory?
Early leads show the JD(U)-BJP combine holding on to their numbers and gaining. The JD(U) is ahead, but is being dragged down a bit by partner BJP which is trailing in some seats it held. And if early trends are an indication, the Lalu's RJD could be looking at a rout, trailing in quite a few of the seats it held last time and for which trends are available. The BSP is making some inroads at both Lalu and the BJP's expense. These are, of course, just trends yet. (
Watch: The seats that Nitish needs to win)
The Bihar elections were held in six phases and have been closely watched both because there were new emerging voting trends in the state and because it was a clash of two major leaders, both lobbying hard to maintain their position. The Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi described it as the "most peaceful election ever." (
Watch: It was the most peaceful election ever, says Qureshi on Bihar polls)
Among the most interesting voting trends was the fact that more women turned out to vote than men did - Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's campaign overtly wooed women voters.
This is part of Nitish Kumar's positioning himself as the leader of the New Age in Bihar - better law and order, improved administration and a new influx of industry. Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the other hand, has had his hopes pinned on replicating his former success that gave him 15 years of power in the state.
The election saw a war of words. Top leaders from both sides aggressively attacked each other at rallies. There were some startling statements made, senior leaders sometimes hitting below the belt. And even on the eve of the result, Nitish Kumar called Lalu Prasad Yadav a tyrant while Lalu said the present government was the embodiment of evil omen.
In the build-up to counting, Nitish Kumar has been described as quietly confident. Lalu was most visibly upset at exit and opinion poll results. (
Watch - Nitish Kumar: Quietly confident?)
For according to those polls, the incumbent JD(U)-BJP alliance will be the big winner getting more seats than the last election. In 2005, Nitish and his ally had won 143 of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly. This time they have been projected to bag as many as 169.
Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal is projected to win less seats than last time - its tally may come down from 64 to 47. Lalu fought these elections in alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP. Bihar watchers say that the Opposition could have done better had this combine and the Congress fought together.
However, the Congress on its own is projected to do better than last time and opinion polls say it could win 13 seats. The Congress had won nine in 2005.
For the BJP, Nitish Kumar's partner, these election results could mean more than just coming back to rule a state jointly. Kumar fought these elections on his own terms, even keeping the BJP's star campaigner Narendra Modi out. A big victory on the issue of administration could see power equations between the partners change even more.