Bihar voted the Janata Dal (United)-led Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, into power on Sunday with almost a three-fourth majority in the assembly elections. The alliance, comprising the JD(U), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, secured as many as 178 seats of the 243-seat assembly. The RJD led the tally with 80 seats, followed by the JD(U)'s 71 and the Congress's 27.

This meant that the JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar will carry on as chief minister for another five years, a post he has held since 2005. It also meant that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was obliterated, winning just 58 seats of which the BJP has 53.

The build-up to the election saw a bitter verbal battle between the two alliances on various topics such as intolerance, beef and caste. Comparatively, counting day was a much more cordial affair, with political leaders staying away from taking too many pot-shots.

Here is how the day unfolded:

Summary:

· RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was confident of the Grand Alliance winning at least 190 seats as early as Friday and reiterated his optimism early Sunday.

· Early trends, before 9 am, put the NDA in the lead. BJP leader Giriraj Singh told reporters that the NDA is set to win, while party workers prematurely began celebrations and burst crackers on the streets.

·The Grand Alliance started slowly, but soon surged ahead. By 10 am, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav congratulated the people of Bihar and said the Grand Alliance would get more than 150 seats.

· By 11 am, the congratulatory messages began pouring in for members of the Grand Alliance. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lauded Nitish Kumar for "a historic win". Soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also accepted defeat.

· Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the prime minister, saying it was "a lesson for Modi to not be so arrogant". He also lashed out at the atmosphere of intolerance in the country, saying the victory was "not against the NDA, but against the divisive agenda of the RSS and BJP".

· Union home minister Rajnath Singh reassured the people of Bihar that the centre will provide the state the promised Rs 1.25 lakh crore economic package despite the BJP's defeat.

· Lalu Yadav said the Grand Alliance will go on to uproot the Modi government in Delhi. Nitish Kumar also said the poll result will have a national impact, but added that the Bihar government will hold no grudges and wants to work with the Opposition to develop the state.

· The BJP was mostly humble in defeat, saying it will analyse the results and their campaign. The party's Parliamentary Board, which is its highest decision-making body, will reportedly meet on Monday to discuss the way forward. However, there were also some rumblings of discontent from within, with party president Amit Shah coming under attack over the "high-pitched" campaign crafted by him.

7.45 pm: Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit congratulated Nitish Kumar on the "spectacular victory" of the Grand Alliance in Bihar, calling it a "triumph of India's pluralism and democracy". She added that the victory also sends a message that people of India have rejected communal politics, reported the Press Trust of India.

7.30 pm: BJP MP Madan Mitra took a dig at his own party, writing in a blog post that the "low-key campaign" of the Grand Alliance and its decision to project the "soft-spoken Nitish Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate did the trick", with voters rejecting the "high-pitched BJP campaign crafted by party president Amit Shah". He added that there is a need to cultivate a strong local party leadership in Bihar, reported the Press Trust of India.

7.15 pm: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh said the people of Bihar have "shown the mirror" to the NDA government by handing a crushing defeat to the "communal forces". Singh congratulated his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, saying it was "a victory of secular forces consisting the RJD, the JD(U) and the Congress and a signal that united opposition can defeat the NDA".

7 pm: The BJP's poll in-charge in Bihar and Union minister Ananth Kumar congratulated chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for their victory in assembly elections:

6.30 pm: National Congress Party president Sharad Pawar said the Bihar polls results indicate there is an "anti-BJP sentiment" in the country and that people are "unhappy" with the Narendra Modi government, reported the Press Trust of India. He added, "I don't see the Bihar verdict in isolation. The state may be backward in terms of development, but the people are rich to take wise political decisions of national impact."

6 pm: BJP leader Sushil Modi admitted that the people of Bihar have given a "clear majority" to the Grand Alliance, saying it was good that it was not a fractured mandate. He added that the NDA won lesser seats than expected and that it will introspect over the shortcomings in the coming days, reported ANI.

Former Bihar chief minister and wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, said:

5.45pm: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said that the defeat of the BJP in Bihar was a collective verdict of the intellectuals of the state. He also quoted Mahatma Gandhi and said that "power acquired by wrong means would leave you defeated", reported the Press Trust of India.

4.50 pm: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh condemned Rahul Gandhi's comments against it, saying it exhibits the "undemocratic and intolerant mindset" of the Congress. Gandhi said earlier today that the polls result was a defeat of the "divisive agenda of Narendra Modi, the BJP and RSS". On Saturday, he had said the Congress will "not just defeat, but smash the RSS".

4.15 pm: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar addressed a press conference in which he thanked the people of the state for the Grand Alliance's victory. He said that the Bihar poll outcome will have national implications as "it makes it clear that people have a strong alternative at national level".

He said, "I wish to congratulate the people of Bihar. This win belongs to the people, their hopes and their self-respect. The people have stood strongly behind the Grand Alliance and the result is in front of you. This is a very big win and we accept it humbly. The clear mandate for the Grand Alliance reflects the wisdom of the people. It shows that people have hopes of moving Bihar forward. We understand this and will work towards fulfilling the aspirations of people."

Kumar also said that the alliance "does not have any ill-will towards anyone" and it will "respect the Opposition and work in consensus to develop Bihar". He added that "we don't hold grudges against anyone and whatever happened during the elections won't affect our functioning".

3.30 pm: Lalu Prasad Yadav addressed a press conference and said the Grand Alliance will take Bihar to new heights of development after the mandate given to them. He also said it will uproot the Narendra Modi government in Delhi. Yadav announced that Nitish Kumar will remain chief minister. The RJD chief thanked the women of Bihar especially and said the Grand Alliance would give them the Bihar of their dreams.

3.05 pm: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar greeted hordes of supporters outside his Patna residence and thanked them.

2.50 pm: RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav said:

2.40 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, adding that the centre will provide the state the promised Rs 1.25 lakh crore economic package despite the BJP's defeat:

1.45 pm: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference in Delhi and congratulated all Mahagathbandhan workers and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. Gandhi hit out at the prime minister, saying, "This is a lesson to Modi to not be so arrogant. This is a victory not against the NDA, but against the divisive agenda of the RSS and BJP. The country belongs to no one religion, it belongs to everyone. The whole country's youth, its intellectuals, the Congress, is telling Modi to stop playing divisive politics and start work."

1.30 pm: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal spoke to the media and said he hoped the atmosphere of intolerance ends now because India is not interested in hate politics, and that the results are a referendum on the Prime Minister's style of working. He added that Modi has become as arrogant in one year in power.

1.20 pm: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury hailed the Nitish Kumar-led alliance's win in Bihar. He said, "Congratulations to Laluji, Nitishji, people of Bihar & India. The bitterness the BJP tried to inject was defeated. First Delhi, then Kerala and now Bihar, People making their own Achhe Din."

1 pm: Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said, "The larger picture is that it is a personal defeat of Mr Modi. Wherever there will be a non-Congress face, Mr Modi and BJP will lose from there."

12.50 pm: BJP party president Amit Shah has congratulated Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, and says he accepts the people's mandate.

12.45 pm: Party workers celebrate Grand Alliance win in Bihar, put up posters of Nitish Kumar defeating BJP.

12.25 pm: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav thanked the people for the Grand Alliance's victory.

12.20 pm: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi congratulated his alliance partners on the victory in Bihar, and said, "This is a victory of unity over divisiveness. Humility over arrogance. Love over hate. A victory of the people of Bihar."

12.10 pm: Senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha tweeted:

12.10 pm: BJP leader and former deputy chief minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, conceded defeat and said, "Congratulations to Laluji and Nitishji for this victory in Bihar elections. We bow before people's mandate."

12.05 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and congratulated him on his poll victory.

11.55 am: BJP's Muralidhar Rao congratulated Nitish Kumar on his win, and said the party will introspect on its defeat.

11.30 am: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated Nitish Kumar, called his a "victory of tolerance".

11.25 am: Former finance minister P Chidambaram told CNN-IBN that Nitish Kumar presented the most compelling narrative that appealed to the voters of Bihar.

11.15 am: Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said, "We congratulate Nitish Kumar. This will be turning point in the country's political power," and added that the Prime Minister's arrogance has cost the BJP its victory.

11.05 am: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Nitish Kumar for his "historic win".

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, "Always remember victory belongs to the leader, defeat to the party. Heartiest congratulations on a well-deserved victory Nitish Kumar sahib. Your victory will prove critical for the nation in the days ahead."

11 am: "I don't see a Bihar happening in Uttar Pradesh elections," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told India Today.

10.45 am: BJP leader Ram Madhav said, "We will respect whatever is the mandate of the people, it is a close finish."

10.40 am: JD(U) leader Pavan Varma told NDTV, "It is a relief and a vindication for us. The initial trends were disquieting. It can happen in an election, it just happened just dramatically this time. Mr Nitish Kumar is completely relaxed. He said yesterday he would have a peaceful morning and come out around noon. This is exactly what he is doing. Both and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav were confident of a win".

10.30 am: BJP leader Prakash Javadekar told NDTV, "Let us wait a few hours. All the parties opposing each other came together, this definitely affects an election result because arithmetic affects an election."

10.15 am: JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav congratulated the people of Bihar and said the Grand Alliance would get more than 150 seats. He also told CNN-IBN that the BJP had lost because of their negative campaigning.

Crowds celebrate Maha Gathbandhan lead outside the BJP office in Patna. (courtesy Scroll.in's Supriya Sharma)

10 am: BJP leader Giriraj Singh has told reporters that the National Democratic Alliance is set to win.

9.15 am: BJP party workers are celebrating outside party offices in Patna.

9am: BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "I'm proud of how Amit Shah managed this campaign. This election will change the nation's political discourse."

"Initial trends were postal ballots, now the gap is reducing. Wait and watch," said Prem Chand Gupta, RJD leader.

8.30 am: Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar told reporters, "We are absolutely sure of our win in Bihar. Women have voted in large numbers. [The] poor want development and they have confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Different exit polls have come but they are not exact polls. In less than 24 hours, we will know the exact poll. We should wait for it."

8 am: Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra spoke to ANI this morning. He said, "Big day, fight between two D's today – Development and second D, desperation for existence." He added, "I am sure for the benefit of Bihar, benefit of the nation, development would be victorious because Bihar has to march ahead."

7.45 am: Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan said, "Laluji has played a key role in Bihar politics, good or bad, that is debatable."

Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manji said he was surprised that Yadav only said 190 seats and not 210 or more. "In reality, Maha Gatbandhan has failed," he said.

6.30 am: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav spoke to journalists at 6.30am on Sunday and greeted them with, “Good morning! We will win!” On Friday, Yadav had said that the Grand Alliance will win at least 190 seats.

The build-up and the five polling phases of the Bihar assembly elections have seen a bitter verbal battle between the two main protagonists – the Grand Alliance, comprising the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, and the National Democratic Alliance, formed of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Lok Janshakti Party, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and the Hindustan Awam Morcha.

The Election Commission has had its hands busy in the state. Over the last few days, it has had to send show-cause notices to leaders from across the political spectrum: Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party; Rahul Gandhi, Congress; Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sharad Yadav, Janata Dal (United). It has also banned two BJP ads from being used in newspapers, for having the potential to create hatred, ill-will and disharmony.

On Wednesday, the EC banned political parties and candidates from publishing advertisements in newspapers without prior approval, ahead of the fifth phase of the polls, after a print ad by the BJP drew accusations from the Grand Alliance of trying to “promote communal tension”.

As the trends and results come in, political leaders are bound to give more reactions.