Patna/New Delhi: Exit polls for the Bihar Assembly election have triggered sharp reactions from both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Mahagathbandhan after multiple agencies projected a decisive win for the NDA.
Most pollsters — including Matrize, P-Marq, People’s Pulse, Bhaskar, People’s Insight, JVC and Poll Diary — have forecast the alliance comfortably crossing the halfway mark of 122 seats in the 243-member House, with many giving it 133 seats or more. However, one outlier, Journo Mirror, predicted a contrasting outcome, giving the opposition bloc 130–140 seats and the NDA 100–110.
NDA sees ‘clean-up’ on cards
Leaders from the NDA camp welcomed the projections, calling them a reflection of public trust. BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said the numbers signalled a “clean-up” of the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) from Bihar’s political landscape.
BJP leader Manoj Tiwari claimed that the opposition had “already accepted defeat” and that the NDA enjoyed broad support across sections. “The Mahagathbandhan has already accepted defeat… Who will vote for those who say long live the mafia?… There is support from women… There has been a big change… The women and Gen Z support and trust PM Modi and Nitish Kumar… ” he told ANI.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha also sounded confident, asserting that people had placed their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “Bihar is the land of the mother of democracy. The people living on that land have given a message to the nation. While voter turnout in 2020 was 57%, this time it was 65% in the first phase and close to 68% in the second phase. This shows that Bihar has rejected the politics of nepotism and dynasty. People expressed their faith in experienced leaders like PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar. Exit polls are also showing the same results… This is an exit poll, we will go even higher in the exact poll… People in Bihar want peace and social harmony, but RJD and Congress create frenzy… The people of Bihar have understood this, the NDA will form the government with a huge majority,” he told ANI.
Opposition calls them ‘fake’ and ‘far from reality’
Leaders from the opposition Mahagathbandhan dismissed the projections as inaccurate. They pointed to the high voter turnout — nearly 69 percent in the final phase and around 66 percent overall, about 9.6 points higher than the last election — as an indicator of anti-incumbency.
RJD MP Sudhakar Singh said, “A higher turnout usually signals anger against the ruling government. I am confident the Mahagathbandhan will form the next government. These exit polls are far from reality.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav went a step further, describing the surveys as “fake and pre-planned.” Drawing a parallel to wrong forecasts during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he quipped, “‘Jiska dana uska gana’ — those who feed them, they sing their tune.”
Final results on November 14
Voting in Bihar took place in two phases on November 6 and 11. Counting of votes will be held on November 14, when the actual verdict will reveal whether the exit polls were on the mark or wide off the mark.
