West Champaran (Bihar) [India], November 14 (ANI): As vote counting progressed on Friday projecting a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party MP Sanjay Jaiswal on Friday said voters realised that the opposition Mahagathbandhan were merely making tall claims and that parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) would not part company of criminals.

Speaking to ANI in Bettiah, Jasiwal said that the NDA will form the government with a thumping majority.

'I was saying from the start that NDA will win elections with a thumping majority. The picture is almost clear. The NDA will form the government with a huge majority. Mahagathbandhan only made claims. They raised slogans like 'Shahabuddin-Taslimuddin amar rahe'. This made the people realise that RJD will not leave support of criminals,' the BJP MP said.

He further attacked Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder and chief Prashant Kishor over his party's performance in the election results, saying that he got what he deserved.

'Prashant Kishor has got what he deserved. He was visible only on social media and the media, not among the public. You cannot have a hold on people even after spending crores of rupees on social media,' Jaiswal added.

In the initial hours as counting progressed, Congress leader Pawan Khera said the Bihar Assembly elections was a direct contest between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the people of Bihar.

Addressing reporters in the national capital, Khera took a jibe at CEC Kumar, saying he exercised an upper hand over the public in Bihar.

He said, 'These are just early trends, we're waiting a bit. The initial trends certainly suggest that Gyanesh Kumar is gaining an upper hand over the people of Bihar. I can't underestimate the people of Bihar. They have shown courage. They showed it despite the SIR and vote theft. The contest is directly between the Election Commission of India and the people of Bihar, and let's see who wins.'

'I'm not even talking about parties. I'm talking about a direct, straight contest between CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the people of Bihar. Now, let's see in the coming hours how effective Gyanesh Kumar will be,' he added.

Khera made the remarks come after Congress reduced its lead in just seven seats, as per Election Commission data at 11:30 am. In 2020, Congress had won 19 seats.

With a focus on youth and women, the NDA manifesto, Sankalp Patra, promised to provide one crore jobs in the next five years, while the Mahagathbandhan bloc had promised government jobs to a member of every family, a review of liquor ban policy, Rs 2,500 monthly allowance for women and 200 units of free power.

The trends suggest that the renewed JD(U)-BJP partnership, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationwide popularity, is steering the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) toward a sweeping mandate in the 243 seat assembly.

The Nitish Kumar-led NDA has secured a combined total of 188 seats, with BJP leading in 86, JDU in 76, LJP 20, HAM 4 and RLM 4 as per data from the EC at 12:20 pm.

RJD led in 34 seats, Congress led in 6, CPI(ML) lead 7, while CPI-M and VIP led in 1 seat each, , as per data from the EC at 11:45 am. Additionally, the BSP leads in one seat, and the AIMIM in three seats.

Earlier today, Congress MP Manickam Tagore alleged that vote deletion happened for voters who support the opposition, saying that democracy can't survive if the playing field is uneven.

'When you delete 65 lakh voters--mostly from the opposition's voters --what do you expect on result day? Democracy cannot survive if the playing field is tilted before the match even begins,' Tagore posted on X.

Counting of votes for all 243 constituencies began at 8 am amid tight security. Officials began tallying postal ballots, with the counting of EVM votes beginning at 8:30 am. (ANI)