Nitish Kumar-led NDA is back in power in Bihar with a slender majority. This was largely due to the spoil shorts of the LJP. 

In any case, the ruling NDA coalition won 125 seats in the 243-member state assembly against 110 clinched by the opposition Grand Alliance to pave the way for a fourth successive term for Kumar in office.

Two points worth noticing in the data released by the EC was this. One, the Left has come out from the state of extinction by gaining seats.

Two, 7,06,252 people or 1.7 per cent of the voters opted for the option whereby they preferred not to vote for any candidate while exercising their democratic right.

EC data show that ovet 4 crore votes were polled in the three-phase elections. Out of nearly 7.3 crore voters, 57.09 per cent had cast votes in the polls.

The 'NOTA' option on electronic voting machines, introduced in 2013, has its own symbol -- a ballot paper with a black cross across it.

After the Supreme Court order in September 2013, the EC added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel.

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