Counting for the 243 seat Bihar Assembly is underway at 55 centres, with 3,755 candidates in the fray. But while there are many news channels sharing live updates and trends from the count, their numbers appear to vary widely.
While many news channels project the Mahagatbandhan (MGB) as having the lead over the NDA, the margin varies somewhat. At 9:30 am, while NDTV projected a lead of 105 to 70 in favour of the RJD, Congress camp, NDTV projects that the MGB is leading 120 to 107. Others channels have varying gaps between the two camps. Republic TV for example has the MGB at 102 with the NDA at 91, while Times Now says that the MGB has 121. The confusing array of options has since drawn the eye of Twitter users, with many wondering who they should listen to.
At the same time, the Election Commission of India projects yet another set of numbers. Putting up data from 112 Assembly seats, the ECI said at 10:00 am that the BJP was leading on 31 seats while the JD(U) led on 20 seats. As per the ECI numbers, the RJD is leading on 32 seats while the Congress maintained a lead in 11 seats. The LJP was being projected as having the lead in three seats.
The multitude of options has also evoked comment from many on Twitter, who expressed consternation about whom to follow for accurate information. Others still struck a cautionary note, urging their fellow Tweeple to not be swayed by any of the numbers as it was too early for predictions.
