NE NEWS SERVICE
PATNA, NOV 14
In contrast to exit poll predictions, poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and Mukesh Sahani’s VIP failed to secure early leads in the Bihar elections. While NDA surging ahead in over 200 seats, both parties struggled despite being projected as potential influencers during this time.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and the Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy Chief Ministerial face Mukesh Sahani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) were unable to secure leads in any constituency in the evening, according to Bihar election trends.
The exit polls had projected that Jan Suraaj would win between zero and two seats, and the trends reflected this forecast. Jan Suraaj was considered the potential ‘X factor’ in this election, largely due to Prashant Kishor’s formidable track record as a poll strategist.
Kishor has been credited with steering major electoral victories for Nitish Kumar in the 2015 Bihar polls, Jagan Mohan Reddy and the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Despite this, several exit polls predicted zero seats for Jan Suraaj, a projection Kishor himself acknowledged, remarking before the counting began that his party would either “perform exceedingly well or crash”.
On the other hand, Mukesh Sahani’s VIP is trailing in all 15 seats it contested. Sahani, who chose not to contest personally, had been positioned as the Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy Chief Ministerial face.
As per the latest trends, the NDA is ahead in 209 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan trails with 29. Bihar witnessed 66.91 per cent voter turnout overall in two-phase elections, the highest since the first elections held in the state during 1951.
