Bihar ministers Prem Kumar, Maheshwar Hazari and Sanjay Saraogi were among prominent winners from the NDA camp which has, so far, won at least 21 seats in the 243-strong Assembly.

Kumar, a senior BJP leader who was the agriculture minister in the outgoing Nitish Kumar government, continued his unbroken run in Gaya Town, a seat he has been winning since 1990. He defeated his Congress rival Akhouri Onkar Nath by a staggering margin of over 26,000 votes.

Hazari, a JD(U) leader who held the Information and Public Relations Department portfolio in the Nitish Kumar government, retained his reserved seat of Kalyanpur where he trounced his nearest CPI(ML) Liberation rival Ranjeet Kumar Ram by a margin of more than 38,000 votes. He has won the seat for a fourth consecutive time.

Saraogi, a Marwa

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