According to trends available on the Election Commission`s website by noon, the BJP was set to emerge as the single-largest party with a lead in more than 80 assembly seats out of 101 it contested, a performance that would further cement its position as the numero uno political force in the country, offsetting whatever setback that might have been caused by last year`s Lok Sabha polls

The NDA`s tally in Bihar comes in the backdrop of the BJP`s back-to-back stupendous performances in Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana

Firm backing to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team also appeared to have paid rich dividends for the JD(U), which seems poised to drastically improve its tally since 2020, when it had won only 43 seats, but was now leading in more than 70

The LJP(RV), headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, the self-declared "Hanuman" of the Prime Minister, was leading in over 20 seats, a stellar show taking into consideration the fact that it had contested only 29

The RJD, which has been priding itself on being the "single largest party" despite being in the opposition, seems to be putting up a dismal show, with a lead in fewer than 40 seats, though it had contested more than 140