Thumping win for NDA in Bihar: Exit polls

PATNA: If the exit poll predictions are anything to go by, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, spearheaded by PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar, is all set to overpower the social engineering of Mahagathbandhan in Lok Sabha elections which concluded on Sunday.
Almost all exit polls, including the one of Times Now-VMR, have given clear majority to BJP-led NDA in Bihar. According to these polls, the NDA will get over 30 of 40 parliamentary seats in the state.Apart from BJP, JD(U) and LJP are the other two allies of the NDA in Bihar.
The CVoter has projected 33 seats in Bihar for NDA and the remaining seven seats for Mahagathbandhan, comprising Congress, RJD, HAM (S), RLSP and VIP. Jan Ki Baat has predicted 28- 31 seats for the NDA in the state. Times Now-VMR has given 30 seats to NDA and 10 to Mahagathbandhan.
Chanakya-News24 has projected 32 seats for NDA in Bihar and the remaining eight seats for Mahagathbandhan,
India Today-Axis My India exit poll has projected as many as 38 seats for NDA in the state. News18-IPSOS has also projected 34-36 seats for NDA in Bihar. Similarly, ABP News-Nielsen has projected 34 seats for NDA in Bihar and the remaining six seats to Mahagathbandhan.
Meanwhile, opposition parties in the state rejected the projections of the exit polls. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chairman Madan Mohan Jha said exit polls had failed in assembly elections held in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh this year. “Exit polls are not reliable. We have seen it in recent state elections as well as general elections in 2004 and 2009. People’s mandate is in our favor and against NDA,” Jha said.
RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwary said the Mahagathbandhan would perform well on the basis of its social engineering. “Apart from Muslims and Yadavs, the Kushwahas, Nishads and Manjhis have also voted for Mahagathbandhan candidates,” Tiwary added.
The mood in NDA camp, on the other hand, was ecstatic. “Exit polls give a broad trend of the direction of the wind in the election. It is now clear that the wind is blowing in favour of the NDA. It will be a death knell for Mahagathbandhan in Bihar,” Bihar BJP vice-president Devesh Kumar said.
JD(U) secretary-general K C Tyagi said the Mahagathbandhan was never united in the state. “There is no match for Nitish-Modi combine, not even the much- hyped social engineering of Mahagathbandhan,” Tyagi added.