Modi-led alliance poised to keep power in India’s Bihar as early trends emerge

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition appeared on track to retain power in the eastern state of Bihar on Friday, according to early counting trends from the two-phase election released by the Election Commission of India.

The vote is widely seen as a key test for Modi’s National Democratic Alliance, which includes Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), or JD (U). Bihar is currently governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the JD (U). The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting the polls in alliance with the Indian National Congress.

Janata Dal is also a key partner of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs the federal administration.

Both alliances focused their campaigns on development and unemployment, two central issues in one of the poorest states in the world’s most populous nation.

According to trends released by the Election Commission on Friday morning, the Modi-led alliance was ahead in more than 180 of the 243 assembly constituencies.

Final results are expected by Friday evening.

More than 74 million people were eligible to vote for the 243 provincial legislative seats. The commission said voter turnout reached 67.13% across the two phases of polling, the highest since 1951.