Exit polls paint Bihar in saffron hues again

Final phase sees record 67.14% voter turnout

- HIMANSHU HARSH & ASAD REHMAN

BIHAR RECORDED ITS HIGHEST ever voter turnout of 67.14% in the second and final phase of polling for the Assembly elections Tuesday, even as all the exit polls predicted a comfortable victory for the incumbent NDA.

The turnout figure, registered till 5 pm, surpassed all previous polling records in Bihar since 1951, according to the office of the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Gunjiyal.

The exit polls, which declared their projections after the completion of voting, unanimously gave the NDA coalition, led by the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), a tally well above the majority mark of 122 seats in the 243-member House. They estimated that the RJD-led Opposition Mahagathbandhan would get around 100 or lesser number of seats.