Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who has led the opposition coalition against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is leading in Raghopur constituency as counting of votes started for the 243-member Bihar assembly.

Tejashwi who turned 31 on Monday was ahead in very early trends as postal ballots were being counted. The early trends are in line with projections by most exit polls that predicted Tejashwi could give a tough fight to Nitish Kumar.

In Raghopur, the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Prasad Yadav faces the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Satish Kumar, who had defeated Rabri Devi in state elections in 2010 and the Lok Janshakti Party’s (LJP’s) Rakesh Roshan. In 2015, Tejashwi who was 25 had defeated BJP’s Kumar.

Meanwhile, counting of votes for 243 Assembly constituencies of Bihar is underway on Tuesday amid tight security and COVID-19 arrangements at all counting centres.

Counting began at 8 am at 55 counting centres set up at 38 district headquarters.

According to the Bihar State Election Commission, three counting centres each in East Champaran, Siwan, Begusarai and Gaya, and two each in Nalanda, Banka, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Gopalganj and Saharsa have been set up. And, there are 414 halls in 55 counting centers.

According to the Election Commission, the first results were expected by mid afternoon. Voting took place in Bihar in three phases -- October 28, November 3 and November 7. The magic figure in the 243-seated Assembly is 122. A three-tier security arrangements has been made at all counting centres. Those with valid passes only have been allowed inside the polling stations.

The counting of all the 14 Assembly constituencies of Patna will be held at the A.N. College, Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi said. The exit poll, after the polling, indicated a tough fight between the RJD-led Grand Alliance and the BJP-led NDA.

(With inputs from IANS)