Bihar polls phase 1: Turnout 64.46 pc; ‘attack’ on DyCM’s convoy sparks row
Phase 1 polling takes place soon after SIR of electoral rolls; Tejashwi Yadav aims for a hat-trick in Raghopur, where BJP has fielded Satish Kumar Yadav
Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 64.46 per cent in the first phase of the Assembly elections on Thursday (November 6). This is the highest voter turnout in any single phase or overall elections in Bihar at least in the past 20 years.
Voting began at 7 am, with over 3.75 crore voters set to decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as the INDIA bloc's Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.
Voting took place at 45,341 polling stations, an overwhelming majority of which (36,733) were in rural areas. Voting concluded at 6 pm. According to the Election Commission (EC), the voting percentage was 64.46 per cent.
Of the 3.75 crore voters in the 121 constituencies, 10.72 lakh were “new electors”, said the EC. The number of voters in the age group of 18-19 years, though, was 7.38 lakh.
The Assembly elections are taking place soon after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which now has 7.24 crore voters across the state, about 60 lakh less than the size before the exercise was undertaken.
Tejashwi Yadav aims for a hat-trick in Raghopur, where the BJP has fielded Satish Kumar Yadav against him. Satish Kumar, who was with the JD(U) earlier, had defeated Tejashwi's mother Rabri Devi in 2010.
The second phase of voting is on November 11, while the results will be declared on November 14.
Also read: Bihar elections Phase 1: Tejashwi, Samrat in key fights
Follow the live updates of voting in the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections here.
Live Updates
- 6 Nov 2025 7:11 AM IST
Visuals from a polling booth as voting gets underway
Voters cast their votes at a polling booth in Lakhanpur of Tarapur constituency.
- 6 Nov 2025 7:09 AM IST
Several ministers in fray
About a dozen ministers, most of them from the BJP, which has the lion’s share in the cabinet, are in the fray. They are Nitin Nabin (Bankipur), Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Jibesh Kumar (Jale) and Kedar Prasad Gupta (Kurhani), all of whom will be defending their seats.
Among JD(U) ministers, Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda) and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan) will have their fate decided in the first phase.
- 6 Nov 2025 7:08 AM IST
Tejashwi aims for hat-trick
Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick in Raghopur, where the BJP has fielded Satish Kumar Yadav against him. Satish Kumar, who was with JD(U), defeated Rabri Devi in 2010. Devi is Tejashwi's mother.
The seat is expected to witness a high-voltage contest, with Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor declaring that he wanted to take on Yadav on his home turf. However, Kishor chose not to contest, and his party fielded a lesser-known candidate, Chanchal Singh.
- 6 Nov 2025 7:03 AM IST
PM Modi's appeal to voters
In a post in Hindi on his X account, PM Narendra Modi appealed to Bihar voters. He congratulated first time voters.
"Today in Bihar is the first phase of the festival of democracy. My appeal to all voters of this phase in the assembly elections is that they should vote with full enthusiasm. On this occasion, my special congratulations to all my young companions of the state who are going to cast their vote for the first time. Remember—first voting, then refreshments!" he wrote.
