Kaun Banega Bihar Ka Badshah: Nitish Kumar or Tejashwi Yadav?

New Delhi: After the conclusion of the three-phase Bihar Assembly elections on Saturday, the counting of votes will begin at 8 am on Tuesday. Even as most exit polls have predicted a big win for Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan, comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left parties in the state, the incumbent Nitish Kumar is looking to retain another term in the state.

If predictions of the pollster come out to be true, which have often been wide off the mark, Yadav will become the youngest chief minister any state in the country has had.

Tuesday's counting will also decide the political fate of nearly a score of ministers, including Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna Sahib), Pramod Kumar (Motihari), Rana Randhir (Madhuban), Suresh Sharma (Muzaffarpur), Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda), Jai Kumar Singh (Dinara) and Krishnanandan Prasad Verma (Jehanabad).

The term of the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly comes to an end on November 29. Of the total strength, 38 seats are reserved for SCs and two for STs.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting, by setting up 55 counting centres in 38 districts across Bihar, with 414 counting halls set up.

Three counting centres each have been set up in four districts of East Champaran (which has 12 assembly constituencies), Gaya (10 seats), Siwan (eight constituencies) and Begusarai (seven constituencies).

In the first phase, 71 seats spread across 16 districts went to poll on 28 October (1,066 candidates), while in the second, voters in 94 seats of 17 districts exercised their franchise on 3 November ( 1,463 candidates). In the third phase, 78 seats spread in 15 districts went to polls on 7 November (1,204 candidates).

As per the guidelines set up the Election Commission due to the coronavirus pandemic, no more than 7 counting tables will be allowed in the counting halls, to maintain social distancing.

Face masks will be mandatory for entering into the counting centres besides sanitisers will be kept in adequate quantity there.