In Bihar, counting of votes has commenced. Polling to elect a new 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly was held in three phases between October 28 and November 7, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led ‘Grand Alliance known as Mahagathbandhan is taking on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprising Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other smaller political outfits. Nitish Kumar, also a former union minister, has held Bihar’s top executive office since 2005, excluding for a brief period in 2014-15. While Kumar was projected as the chief ministerial face, the NDA campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Mahagathbandhan, which has projected RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, also includes the Indian National Congress and other smaller parties. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is an NDA component at the Centre, fought the polls separately. But it mainly fielded candidates against the JD(U), not the BJP. Bihar Election: Chirag Paswan's party starts Yagna and Havan for victory Today Bihar election results will announce, Know who will become CM 55 Counting centres, 78 CAPF companies, n number of CCTVs, all set for Bihar vote counting