Patna, Nov. 14 -- As the counting of votes began for the Bihar Assembly elections on Thursday, early trends show the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) past the halfway mark of 122, strengthening its lead over the Mahagathbandhan.

At 9:30 am, NDA was leading at 150 seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) ahead on 65 and 63 seats each.

JD(U) has maintained a high conversion rate of greater than 68 per cent, with the BJP at a 66 per cent conversion rate.

Mahagathbandhan was lagging behind, with a lead of just 75 seats. While Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was leading on 49 seats, their allies are showing an underwhelming performance as per the early trends. Congre...