New Delhi: An exit poll on NDTV on Friday predicted an edge for the BJP-led alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections giving it 120 to 130 seats in the 243 member House. A post-poll survey ( not an exit poll) done by Lokniti-CSDS for The Indian Express, points to a turnaround in favour of the Mahagathbandhan. A couple of weeks before the first phase of polling, the NDA was ahead in the electoral race in Bihar. The latest from this survey says the Mahagathbandhan may end up with roughly 42 per cent of the votes while the NDA will lag behind with around 38 per cent votes. This survey also says Lalu Yadav fared better than Nitish Kumar.

In the NDTV exit poll, the JD(U)-led Grand Alliance has been projected to get between 105 and 115 seats.

The poll showed that the NDA led in three phases — second, third and fourth — while the other grouping led in the remaining two phases.

In the first phase comprising 49 seats, the Grand Alliance has been given 28 seats and the NDA 20. In the second phase with 32 seats, the alliances have been projected to get 12 and 19 respectively.

The BJP-led alliance is tipped to get 28 seats in the third phases, which has a total of 50 seats. The Grand Alliance gets 21 seats.

The fourth phase, which has 55 seats, the JD(U) alliance is predicted to 21 seats, 10 less than the NDA.

Surprisingly, the last phase, where Muslims and OBCs were a major factor, the NDA is predicted to get 27 of the 57 seats giving it a big edge. The JD(U)-led alliance is tipped to get only 28 seats.

Overall, the "Others" has been given 8 seats.

On Thursday at the end of the polling, most of the exit polls predicted a close fight giving an edge to the Grand Alliance while one poll predicted a clean sweep for the NDA.

Today's Chanakya too had predicted a win for the BJP-led alliance in Bihar with 155 seats (the highest any exit polls has given so far) and had given the JD(U)-led Grand Alliance 83 seats and others 5.

However, the NDTV exit polls can be more accurate in terms of numbers since their sample size is huge. Psephologist and former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said, "A sample size of 76,000 is something that is used for general elections."

After the exit poll numbers, both the sides said they were confident of a victory.

"Feedback we have been getting from ground zero makes it clear that our alliance will win the polls and form the government there," Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed had said.

He had said reports from different parts of the state made it clear for the Congress that the grand alliance comprising the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress would form the new government in Bihar.

Expressing similar hopes, Bharatiya Janata Party's Nalin Kohli had said his party was confident of victory.

"The BJP is confident of victory. The exit polls are showing wide variance, with some predicting a clear victory for the BJP and a few predicting a close call," he told IANS.

Kohli expressed happiness over the participation of a large number of women in the electoral process.

"The increase in voting percentage and the participation of a large number of women voters is a positive sign and a victory for democracy," he added.

Curtains came down on Thursday on the five-phase assembly elections in Bihar that pitted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP-led National Democratic Alliance against the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with nearly 60 percent of the 1.55 crore electorate turning out to vote in the final round.(Agencies)