As counting was underway in the Bihar Assembly polls on Tuesday, 10 November, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), alleged that the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state was intimidating officials and tampering with the results.
However, in a press briefing, the Election Commission denied that its officials were under any pressure and that the time taken for declaration of results is “natural under these circumstances.”
“Anyone can see results on our website,” the Election Commission also said on the RJD’s allegations of results being suppressed, adding that the portal showed that as of that moment, total results declared could be seen to be 146.
“The Election Commission has never worked under anybody's pressure. All officials and machinery are working sincerely for declaration of the results,” Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General, ECI said.
The JD(U)-led NDA on Tuesday returned to power in Bihar with a slim majority of 125 seats, securing a fourth term for Nitish Kumar as the chief minister of the state.