As counting begins in Bihar, early trends from postal ballots suggest that Prashant Kishor (PK) and his Jan Suraaj Party may be performing better than what most exit polls had predicted.

While major exit polls projected a largely bipolar contest between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, the first postal ballot rounds indicate that PK’s candidates are securing a notable share of early votes in several constituencies. Election officials emphasise that postal ballots often reflect the preferences of service voters, senior citizens, and election-duty staff, categories that tend to vote early and sometimes differently from the general electorate.

Sources on the ground say that in multiple seats across West Champaran, East Champaran, Saran, and Seemanchal, Jan Suraaj candidates have shown “unexpectedly competitive numbers” in the postal ballot count. Although these figures are preliminary and can shift significantly once EVM votes are tallied, they have injected a sense of unpredictability into a race many believed was largely settled by exit polls.

Political analysts caution that postal ballots alone cannot determine the final outcome. However, they also note that stronger-than-expected early numbers for PK could signal voter traction that opinion surveys may have missed, especially among youth, first-time voters, and communities disillusioned with established parties.

With full counting set to intensify through the day, all eyes will be on whether PK’s early momentum holds once EVM trends begin to firm up. For now, postal ballots indicate one thing clearly: Prashant Kishor is not out of the game just yet.