Vikrant Shekhawat : Nov 11, 2020, 02:03 PM
Patna: Soon after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained clear majority in Bihar, winning 125 seats in the 243-member Assembly, posters lauding JDU and BJP combine were put up in Patna.“Double engine government has yet again created history. No confusion, great combination”, the posters, which has caricatures of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar read.Notably, the first mass election in the country amidst conditions created by COVID-19 has paved the way for the return of Chief Minister Kumar for the fourth successive term in office.The closely contested battle saw the Mahagathbandhan narrowing the gap between the two alliances during the day with political parties in fray keeping an eye on the narrow margins.Counting of votes, which began at 8 am at 55 counting centres, across 38 districts of the state saw BJP leading on two seats and Janata Dal-United on one seat at 4 am on Wednesday.In 2015 Assembly polls, RJD with 80 seats had emerged as the single largest party in the elections, followed by JD-U (71). BJP was reduced to 53 seats and got the largest vote share (24.42 per cent).