After weeks of bitter campaigning, three phases of voting, more than 15 hours of counting, and allegations of cheating, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP was announced as the winner of the Bihar election early on November 11. The BJP won 74 seats to emerge as the senior member in its alliance with Nitish Kumar's JDU, which won only 43. The opposition, led by the RJD's Tejashwi Yadav began the day well, surging into an early lead before being pegged back and overhauled by the NDA. However, with 75 seats the RJD is the single-largest party. The Congress contested 70 seats but won only 19, eight fewer than it managed in 2015. Chirag Paswan's LJP, which was the source of much frustration for Nitish Kumar, won just one seat. The three Left parties claimed 16 seats between them, with 12 going to the CPI (Marxist-Leninist). The BJP is now the big brother in its relationship with the JDU. This could impact the choice of Bihar's next chief minister. The result leaves Nitish Kumar's dream of a sixth term as chief minister in the hands of the BJP.