NDA leading on 37 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

Patna: Union ministers-- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Giriraj Singh, R K Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey-- are among NDA candidates leading on 37 seats while RJD is ahead on two consituencies and its mahagathbandhan ally Congress at one place, as per the latest trends available.

Among the central ministers only Ram Kripal Yadav is trailing by around 6900 votes to his rival RJD candidate Misa Bharti, Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter, in Pataliputra constituency.

BJP and JD(U) are leading on 16 and 15 seats respectively while LJP is ahead on six seats.

The RJD, which is heading five parties Mahagathbandhan which also included Congress, HAM, VIP and RLSP, is leading in two seats of Jehanabad and Pataliputra and its ally Congress is ahead in Kishanganj out of the 40 seats on which trends are available, according to the figures released by the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar.

Prominent NDA faces who are leading currently included- union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad (Patna Sahib), Radha Mohan Singh(Purvi Champaran), Giriraj Singh(Begusarai), R K Singh (Ara), Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran), Chirag Paswan(Jamui), Ram Vilas Paswan's brother Pashupati Kumar Paras (Hajipur).

Prominent opposition Mahagathbandhan faces who are trailing included- Sharad Yadav (Madhepura), actor-turned- politician Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib), former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (Sasaram), former JNUSU president and CPI nominee Kanhaiya Kumar (Begusarai), RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha (Karakat), Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahni (Khagaria), former Bihar CM and HAM (S) president Jitan Ram Manjhi (Gaya).

RLSP chief Upendra Kishwaha, who contested from two seats of Karakat and Ujiarpur, is trailing on both the places. Kushwaha is trailing by over 95,000 votes in Ujiarpur to BJP's Nityanand Rai while he is behind by 18000 votes in Karakat to his JD(U) rival Mahabali Singh.

Jitan Ram Manjhi is trailing by over 58,000 from Gaya reserved seat to his JD(U) rival Vijay Manjhi.

Another Mahagathbandhan constituent- Vikassheel Insan party (VIP)- chief Mukesh Sahni is trailing behind by 8300 votes from his rival LJP's Mehboob Ali Kaiser in Khagaria.

Union law minister and BJP candidate Ravi Shankar Prasad is leading by over 1,13,000 votes over his nearest Congress competitor Shatrughan Sinha in Patna Sahib constituency while Giriraj Singh has maintained huge lead of over 2 lakh votes over his rival and CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai constituency.

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh is leading over 71,000 votes from his rival RLSP candidate Akash Kumar Singh in Purvi Champaran constituency.

Senior leader Sharad Yadav, who is contesting on RJD ticket from Madhepura, is trailing by over 87000 votes from his rival and JD(U) candidate Dinesh Chandra Yadav.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress candidate Meira Kumar is trailing by over 66,000 votes in Sasaram from her rival and BJP candidate Chhedi Paswan.

RJD's Surendra Yadav is leading by 7800 votes over his rival JD(U)'s Chandeshwar Prasad in Jehanabad while Congress' Mohammed Javed is leading by 9700 votes over his rival JD(U)'s Mahmud Ashraf in Kishanganj.

Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav's father-in-law Chandrika Rai, who is a RJD candidate from Saran, is also trailing by 57000 votes from his rival and BJP candidate Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Ram Vilas Paswan's brothers Pashupati Kumar Paras and Ram Chandra Paswan are leading from Hajipur and Samastipur constituency respectively.