Bihar polls: Tight security as vote counting underway in Lakhisarai; BJP's Vijay Kumar Sinha leads in early trends

Lakhisarai (Bihar) [India], November 14 : Vote counting for the Bihar Assembly constituency began early on Friday under an intensive and multilayered security setup, as district authorities implemented strict Election Commission directions to ensure a smooth and transparent process.
The counting follows two phases of polling held across the state on November 6 and November 11, culminating today in the final verdict across all 243 Assembly seats.
Providing an update from the counting centre in Lakhisarai assembly constituency, Lakhisarai District Magistrate Mithilesh Mishra said the administration is adhering closely to every guideline issued by the Election Commission.

"We are following the instructions of the Election Commission. Three-layer security is in place. No vehicles are allowed to move outside the polling centres. Postal Ballot and EVM countings have begun. Agents of the candidates have also taken their place. Sufficient police force has also been deployed..." he told ANI.
Echoing the same assurance, Lakhisarai Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar said the situation remained calm and fully under control.

"We have made all the arrangements. The counting of votes is underway very peacefully. We have sufficient force deployed here. At sensitive locations, additional force has been deployed..." he stated.
The district police have deployed additional personnel in areas previously identified as vulnerable, in accordance with Election Commission protocols that mandate a layered approach in high-sensitivity zones.
However, the early trends indicated that Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha had taken an initial lead. Sinha, a prominent BJP leader and former Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, is in a closely watched contest.
On the other hand, Indian National Congress candidate Amarish Kumar was trailing in the initial rounds.
Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP candidate for the Lakhisarai seat, Vijay Kumar Sinha, on Friday said that the public mandate predicted by the exit polls will translate into results in the Assembly elections.
The majority of the exit polls predicted the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) victory in Bihar.
Sinha told ANI, "The exit polls reflected the public mandate, what was anticipated is now turning into results. The trust shown by people in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will give direction to the nation. Our result will be better than what the exit polls showed."
Counting of votes for all 243 constituencies began at 8 am on Friday amid tight security.