Exit polls on Tuesday projected that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will defeat the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections.

The exit polls were released after polling in the final phase ended. The Election Commission has not yet announced the provisional voter turnout for the phase.

The first phase of the Assembly polls took place on Thursday. The voter turnout in the first phase was a record 64.6%, the Election Commission said.

The votes will be counted on Friday.

According to Dainik Bhaskar, the NDA is expected to win 145-160 seats. While Matrize has projected 147-167 seats for the ruling alliance, People’s Pulse has predicted that it will win 133-159 seats and People’s Insight pegged it will clinch 133-148 seats.

All four exit polls forecast that the Mahagathbandhan will fall far short of the halfway mark. Dainik Bhaskar projected 73-91 seats for the Opposition alliance, Matrize 70-90, People’s Insight 87-102, and People’s Pulse 75-101.

The exit polls also predicted that former political strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj may fail to win even a single seat in the elections, with projections ranging from zero to five seats.

The Bihar Assembly has 243 members. A party or a coalition requires 122 seats to form the government.

Read Scroll’s ground reports from Bihar here.

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