"Nitish Kumar will be CM again": Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary as NDA leads in early trends

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 14 (ANI): Bihar Rural Works Department Minister Ashok Choudhary on Friday morning asserted that Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister again after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secures a two-thirds majority in the assembly elections.
"We will win by a two-thirds majority. Nitish Kumar will be the CM. The people who used to marginalise Nitish Kumar have now understood what he is," Choudhary, the Janata Dal (United) national general secretary, told ANI.
Taking a dig at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for criticising the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Bihar Minister said that one should accept defeat or victory with humility. He further accused Tejashwi of being surrounded by "criminals".
"This is not how a person who wins speaks. There should be humbleness in accepting victory or defeat. These are the ethos of democracy. He himself has the support of criminals. Who is Ritlal Yadav? Lalu Prasad Yadav goes to campaign for him. We need to think about it. Who is Lali Yadav, for whom Tejashwi went on a helicopter?" Choudhary said.
The Bihar Minister labelled the remarks made by RJD leader Sunil Singh as "provocative". He said that people voted for the RJD in previous assembly elections to bestow upon them the responsibility of being a strong opposition, but it won't happen this time.
"Why will there be any disturbance? There are observers, courts, and the Election Commission. You are merely trying to create a perception. Last time, people voted for you to make you a strong opposition. However, this time, you won't even be a strong opposition. These statements are provocative," Choudhary said.
RJD's Singh had issued a strong warning to election officials, cautioning against any attempt to manipulate the people's mandate, otherwise "the same scenes witnessed on the roads in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka will be seen on the roads of Bihar as well".
Singh claimed that in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, "many RJD candidates were forcibly defeated," and urged vigilance to ensure such incidents do not repeat.
"Many of our candidates were forcibly defeated in 2020. I have requested all our officials involved in the counting process that, if you defeat the person whom the public has given their mandate, the same scenes you witnessed on the roads in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka will be seen on the roads of Bihar as well," Singh told ANI.
The RJD leader further warned that any act against the will of the people could trigger widespread public outrage.
"You will see the common people taking to the streets. We are absolutely vigilant about this, and we urge you not to do anything that goes against public sentiment, that the public will not accept," Singh added.
As counting began for the Bihar elections today, the NDA quickly pulled ahead of the Mahagathbandhan. By 9:00 am, early trends showed the NDA leading in 117 constituencies, while the Mahagathbandhan was ahead in 58.
Within the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 49 seats and has recorded a conversion rate of 65 per cent. The Janata Dal (United) leads on 50 seats, and is currently showing a stronger conversion rate of nearly 69 per cent.
Among Mahagathbandhan partners, the CPI (ML) is performing the best, leading in 7 seats. In comparison, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leads in 40 seats with a conversion rate of 37%. The Indian National Congress leads in 10 seats, with a poor conversion rate of 20%, having contested 60 seats.
Counting of votes for all 243 constituencies began at 8 am amid tight security. Officials began tallying postal ballots, with the counting of EVM votes scheduled to start at 8:30 am.
Elaborate security arrangements are in place, with 4,372 counting tables and over 18,000 counting agents overseeing the process. Most exit polls predict a comfortable victory for the NDA, with some projecting the Mahagathbandhan to win.
According to the ECI's official press note, 2,616 candidates and 12 recognised political parties participated in the two-phase polls on November 6 and 11, and none requested repolling in any constituency.
The main election contest in the Bihar elections is between the National Democratic Alliance, led by CM Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav's Mahagathbandhan. (ANI)