RJD accuses Nitish Kumar of pressurising officials to delay counting, alleges foul play

As the race between NDA and the Mahagathbandhan gets narrower by the minute in the Bihar Assembly Elections' results, the RJD has accused incumbent CM Nitish Kumar of foul play. RJD has alleged that CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Modi are pressurising the District Magistrates and Returning Officers to delay the results of close contests. The party has also claimed that its winners are not being provided with certificates either. As per the Election Commission, RJD has won 14 seats and is leading in 62 seats. 

"Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi and others are sitting in the Chief Minister's Residential Office and pressurising all the District Magistrates to somehow stop the Mahagathbandhan at somewhere 105-110 seats. We will not allow them to loot the people's mandate under any circumstance," the RJD tweeted in Hindi. 

Earlier in the day, RJP MP Manoj Jha made a similar allegation as he accused CM Nitish Kumar of calling returning officers to slow down the counting of votes. Speaking to ANI, Jha confidently asserted that RJD would form the government in Bihar. As per the latest ECI trends, the Mahagthbandhan is leading on 114 seats while the NDA leads on 122 seats. 

READ | RJD Willing To Extend Olive Branch To JD(U) If BJP Stakes Claim On Bihar CM Post: Sources

RJD in talks with JDU

As per sources, the RJD is awaiting a crisis in the NDA, following which it is likely to extend an olive branch to the JDU in an attempt to stake claim to form the government. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagathbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. However, he stepped down as the CM on July 26, 2017, citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

READ | Trailing In Bihar Trends, RJD Cites Ground Info To Claim 'Mahagathbandhan Govt Assured'

As per the latest ECI trends, Congress is leading in 17 seats and has won 3 whereas the JDU has won 7 seats and is leading in 36. On the other hand, the Hindustani Awam Morcha has won only one seat and is leading in 2 seats. The ECI has also reported that around 3.40 crores have been counted till 8 PM on Tuesday. 

Counting of votes polled in Bihar Assembly elections began at 8 am on Tuesday at 55 counting centres across 38 districts of the state. The voting across 243-assembly constituencies in Bihar was held in three phases on October 28, November 3, and November 7 to decide the fate of 3,755 candidates. Over 7,29,27,396 electors were eligible to vote in Bihar polls and the voter turnout was at 57.05 per cent, which was 0.39 per cent higher compared to 56.66 per cent in 2015 elections. 

READ | Bihar Election Results: RJD's Manoj Jha Says 'will Form Next Govt' As NDA Leads In Trends

The Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(M-L), CPI, and CPM is perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling NDA alliance consisting of BJP, JD(U), VIP, and HAM(S). Some of the other alliances in the fray include the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' who has projected Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav as the CM face and the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance' with former Upendra Kushwaha as the CM candidate.

READ | Bihar Election Results: RJD Remains Confident Of Victory, Tells CM 'don't Slow The Count'