Bihar Assembly elections: Counting to begin shortly, will Nitish Kumar secure another term?

7.15 am: Political leaders were on Monday confined to their homes and refused to comment on the election results, reports The Hindu. Tejashwi Yadav, who turned 31, celebrated a quiet birthday. As most exit polls were in his favour, the Rashtriya Janata Dal asked its supporters to maintain discipline and warned against extreme reactions, irrespective of the results.

7 am: For Tuesday’s counting, the Election Commission of India says it has set up a total of 55 counting centres, spread across all the 38 districts of Bihar that voted, reports PTI. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Electoral Officer HR Srinivasa says the poll body has established a three-tier security system for strong rooms (housing the Electronic Voting Machines) and the counting centres.

“We have deployed 19 companies of CAPF [Central Armed Police Forces] just for the security of the strong rooms and counting centres,” he says. “Besides, we have 59 CAPF companies to ensure law and order during and in the aftermath of the counting process.”

6.50 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has been impressing upon voters to choose Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, lest they want a return to the “goonda raj” of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal era.

6.40 am: The Opposition, led by Lalu Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav, has consistently focused...

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