NEW DELHI: Bihar will vote in two phases—on November 6 and 11—to elect a new Assembly in the state. The counting of votes and results will take place on November 14.
Announcing the Assembly poll schedule for Bihar on Monday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) shared new details and processes that will be implemented for the highly anticipated elections.
The term of the 243-member state Assembly ends on November 22. Political parties had requested the Election Commission to conduct elections immediately after the popular Chhath festival to ensure greater voter participation, as a large number of people employed outside the state return home for the festivities.
Of the state’s 243 seats, 121 will vote in the first phase, and the rest in the second. For the first phase, the last date for filing nominations is October 17, while scrutiny will be held on October 18. The last date for withdrawal of candidature for first-phase elections is October 20.
Similarly, for the second phase, the last date for filing nominations is October 20, while scrutiny will be held on October 21. The last date for withdrawal of candidature for the second-phase elections is October 23.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect in Bihar with the announcement of the Assembly elections.
In the outgoing Assembly, the ruling NDA has 138 members, while the opposition alliance has 103 members in the 243-member Assembly.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, held a series of meetings in Patna over the weekend to assess security arrangements, logistics, and enforcement preparedness with top state officials to ensure free, fair, and inducement-free elections.
Ahead of the announcement, parties involved in the Bihar polls called on the Election Commission to ensure the conduct of fair and transparent elections across the state. They also requested single-phase voting for Bihar.
Over 7.4 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including 14 lakh first-time voters, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said. He asserted that the elections would be conducted in a transparent and peaceful manner.
“There are a total of 7.42 crore voters in Bihar, of which 3.92 crore are males and 3.5 crore are females. There are 14 lakh first-time voters and 4 lakh senior citizen voters,” Kumar said. He added that at least 14,000 voters in the state are over 100 years old. A total of 90,712 polling stations are being set up in Bihar. The CEC said strict directives have been given to the administration to maintain “zero tolerance for any violence, with no scope for threats to voters or candidates.”Terming the Bihar elections as the “mother of all elections”, the CEC said the Commission will roll out 17 new initiatives, which could later be implemented across the country.
Crediting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Kumar said the upcoming elections in Bihar could be the most transparent in India’s electoral history, and the state will set an example for the rest of the country in cleaning up voter lists.
Responding to a question about women voters wearing a burqa or veil (ghunghat), Kumar said there are clear guidelines from the Commission regarding identity verification inside polling booths, which will be strictly followed.“Our anganwadi workers will be deployed at all polling booths for verifying the identity of burqa-clad women. The guidelines of the Commission are very clear about how identity is verified inside a polling station, and they will be followed strictly,” he said.
In the run-up to the poll schedule announcement, the politically significant state had witnessed hectic and intense political activity over the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission.
The coming election is expected to witness a high-stakes tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (United)-led alliance and the Mahagathbandhan, led by the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Election strategist Prashant Kishor—who orchestrated wins for Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal—will make his electoral debut with his newly formed party, Jan Suraaj, contesting all 243 seats in the state.New protocols have been introduced by the poll panel to issue new voter cards within 15 days of receiving an application, ensuring every eligible voter can cast their ballot.
The opposition, already critical of the EC and the ruling BJP over alleged ‘voter fraud’ last year, opposed the SIR, claiming it aimed to disenfranchise lakhs of marginalised voters who might support them.The EC maintained that the revision ensures only eligible individuals, i.e., Indian citizens, can vote, pointing to the discovery of Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals on Bihar’s voter lists. The Bihar SIR reduced registered voters to less than 7.24 crore from 7.9 crore.
The SIR sparked fierce debate and legal challenges in the Supreme Court, which ruled this week that the process could be scrapped if illegality is established.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the NDA government has pulled Bihar out of ‘Jungle Raj’ and put it on a path of development and good governance. He expressed confidence that the people would again choose the politics of development in the upcoming Assembly elections.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said Bihar will vote for change in the upcoming polls and that “every Bihari will be the CM.” JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha said he is confident that the NDA will secure a massive majority under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.“We urged the EC to hold Assembly elections in a single phase. It is possible. The state has no law and order problems, nor is it affected by Naxal violence. If elections could be held in a single phase in Maharashtra, why not here?” said Jha.
The Congress alleged that the Election Commission was in an “alliance” with the BJP and failed to address questions on “vote chori” raised by party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Meanwhile, seat-sharing for both the Mahagathbandhan and NDA alliances is expected to be announced later this week. Tejashwi Yadav said the Mahagathbandhan’s formula is in its final stages and will be announced soon.In the 2020 Assembly polls, the BJP won 74 seats, while JD(U) secured 43 seats. The Mahagathbandhan, including RJD, Congress, and Left parties, won 110 seats—RJD 75, Congress 19, and Left 16.This year’s Bihar election marks the beginning of high-profile Assembly polls over the next two years, with Assam, Bengal, and Tamil Nadu voting in 2026, and Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in 2027. The next Lok Sabha elections are due in 2029.
The EC also announced dates for eight Assembly by-elections: two in Jammu and Kashmir, including Budgam (vacated by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after he also won Ganderbal), and one each in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana, Punjab, Mizoram, and Odisha. The voting will be held on November 11, and the counting of votes will be done on November 14.