
Bihar to vote on November 6, 11; results on 14
Over 7.4 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections including 14 lakh first-time voters
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday (October 6) announced the full schedule for the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, setting the stage for a high-octane political battle in two phases in November.
Voting for the 243-member Assembly will take place on November 6 and 11. The counting takes place on November 14.
With the announcement of the dates, the Model Code of Conduct comes into immediate effect across the state.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar detailed the schedule at a press conference in New Delhi, emphasising the need for a two-phase election to ensure the smooth deployment of security forces and efficient management of polling across all 38 districts.
While 121 Assembly constituencies will go to the polls in the first phase, voting will be held in 122 Assembly constituencies in the second phase.
Kumar termed the Bihar elections as "mother of all elections".
For the first phase, the last date of filing nominations is October 17 while the scrutiny will be held on October 18. The last date of withdrawal of candidature for first phase elections is October 20.
Similarly, for the second phase, the last date of filing nominations is October 20 while scrutiny will be held on October 21. The last date of withdrawal of candidature for the first phase elections is October 23.
The term of the current Assembly ends on November 22. Bihar has 243 constituencies, including two reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 38 for Scheduled Castes.
Over 7 crore voters
Over 7.4 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections, including 14 lakh first-time voters. "There are a total of 7.42 crore voters in Bihar, of which 3.92 crore are males and 3.5 crore are women. There are 14 lakh first-time voters and 4 lakh senior citizen voters," Kumar said at a press conference.
At least 14,000 voters in the state are aged above 100 years. A total of 90,712 polling stations are being set up in Bihar, he said.
Controversial elections in the offing
The announcement comes amid a raging controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, which has led to a reduction of 38 lakh voters, prompting the Opposition to make big allegations of vote chori (theft).
The EC will also roll out certain electoral reforms with the Bihar polls. These include a cap of 1,200 on the number of voters allotted to each polling station, and the serial number font and candidate photos being printed in colour.
The SIR exercise has led to a significant drop in the number of voters — the final list was released on September 30. While the total electorate has gone down from about 7.8 crore to 7.42 crore in the final rolls, male voters were cut by 3.8 per cent (15.5 lakh), while women voters declined by 6.1 per cent (22.7 lakh).
The Opposition, led by the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, has held a Voter Adhikar Yatra in the state to protest against the SIR exercise.
The BJP-led NDA currently holds 131 seats in the 243-seat Assembly, including the BJP’s 80 seats, JD(U)’s 45, HAM(S)’s 4, and two independents. The Opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) holds 111 seats, with the RJD’s 77, Congress’s 19, CPI(ML)’s 11, and two each of CPI(M) and CPI.
Also read:
Congress claims EC’s Bihar SIR removed 23 lakh women from voters’ list
NDA’s Rs 62,000 Cr poll bonanza blunts Opposition's ‘vote chori’ plank
Why is Nitish, known for no-tolerance policy, mum on graft charges against Bihar ministers
SIR: 'Final' Bihar voter roll still a mystery, leaves Grand Alliance baffled
Follow LIVE updates below
Live Updates
- 6 Oct 2025 4:22 PM IST
New system for mobile phones
Voters can hand over their mobile phones at a kiosk near the polling booth before voting and collect them after voting: CEC
- 6 Oct 2025 4:21 PM IST
On voter list
Many had raised issues in the voter list. 243 electoral registration officers along with 90,000 booth-level officials have tried to fix the rolls. Bihar has shown the country the way: CEC
“New names in the voter list or people who have seen changes in their address have been given new voter cards.”
- 6 Oct 2025 4:18 PM IST
Booth-level agents well-trained this time: CEC
For the first time, all booth-level agents from Bihar have been trained by the EC at its institute IIIDM. Generally, the training of police officers is also done at the district or state level. But this time police officers have also been trained at IIIDM.
- 6 Oct 2025 4:16 PM IST
Security will be beefed up: CEC
CAPF will be adequately deployed. Any fake news or misinformation, especially on social media, will be countered and strict vigil will be kept on all points to thwart any illegal transaction of drugs, liquor or cash.
- 6 Oct 2025 4:14 PM IST
EC assures minimum facilities, special care for elderly, differently abled
Every polling station will have assured minimum facilities including poll volunteers, voter facilitation centres, toilets, ramps etc. The elderly and differently abled will be allotted ground-floor polling stations.
- 6 Oct 2025 4:10 PM IST
We aim to hold a peaceful election: CEC Gyanesh Kumar
The entire EC team recently visited Bihar and based on that, has decided to announce the poll dates. We met all parties, collectors, chief secretary, heads of enforcement agencies, among others. We want to tell the public of Bihar that the polls this time will not only be smooth for the voters but also be held in a peaceful manner.
- 6 Oct 2025 4:07 PM IST
CEC starts addressing press conference
The Election Commission will announce the Bihar Assembly polls shortly.
- 6 Oct 2025 4:00 PM IST
Read The Federal's story: SIR: 'Final' Bihar voter roll still a mystery, leaves Grand Alliance baffled
Election Commission's September 30 final Bihar rolls list 7.42 crore voters—down 47 lakh from pre-SIR 7.89 crore—via 68 lakh deletions (deceased/migrated/duplicates, negligible foreigners) and 21.53 lakh additions, up from August draft's 7.24 crore. The Grand Alliance has hailed vindication against NDA's "infiltrator" narrative and credits opposition/SC push for reinstating 10-15 lakh wrongly deleted names, but warns of 4.6 lakh unexplained Form-6 additions post-September 1 cutoff, unclear reinstatements vs. new voters, and 3.66 lakh post-draft ineligibility—calling for granular data, booth scrutiny, and "vote theft" campaign tweaks amid ongoing fixes.
Click this link to read more:
- 6 Oct 2025 3:49 PM IST
Read The Federal's story: Why is Nitish, known for no-tolerance policy, mum on graft charges against Bihar ministers
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor has accused Bihar ministers Samrat Choudhary, Ashok Choudhary, and Mangal Pandey of rampant corruption, demanding resignations and claiming evidence. At this juncture, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's silence, defying his zero-tolerance legacy, has baffled one and all. Analysts attribute Nitish’s silence to his ill-health and political compulsions.
Click this link to read more:
Why is Nitish, known for no-tolerance policy, mum on graft charges against Bihar ministers
- 6 Oct 2025 3:45 PM IST
Read The Federal’s story: NDA’s Rs 62,000 Cr poll bonanza blunts Opposition's ‘vote chori’ plank
The article examines how the BJP-led NDA government, ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, has rolled out a massive package of welfare schemes worth over ₹62,000 crore — targeting youth, women, and marginalised groups — as part of a strategic pre-poll push. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced multiple benefits, including stipends for unemployed youth, education loans, and cash transfers to women, which the Opposition calls blatant “revdi” (freebie) politics.
Click this link to read more: