NEW DELHI: The Congress party is experiencing one of its steepest declines in Bihar in recent years, with early trends showing it leading in only five seats. The party won 19 seats in the 2020 assembly elections. This weak performance comes even as its ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal , is performing much better and emerging as the strongest pillar of the Mahagathbandhan alliance. If these trends hold, the Bharatiya Janata Party will outperform the JD(U) for a second consecutive election, which could spark demands within the BJP for its own chief ministerial candidate. However, the early numbers suggest a collapse for Congress. Also read | NDA heading for landslide victory; trends show 'susashan' winning Its traditional pockets in Seemanchal, Mithila, and parts of Magadh

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