As the first phase of the Bihar Assembly polls entered its third hour, the overall voter turnout in Bihar stood at 13.13%. As of 9 a.m. on November 6, 2025, Saharsa district recorded the highest turnout at 15.27%. Vaishali district was in second place with a total voter turnout of 14.30%, while Siwan recorded 13.35%.
The state capital, Patna, recorded the lowest turnout, with 11.22% of voters casting their ballots by 9 a.m.
Former Union Minister of Railways and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav arrived at a polling booth in Patna to exercise his right to vote. He told the media, “Badlaav hoga (Change will happen)" after casting his vote.
Home Minister Amit Shah took to X to urge all the people of Bihar to vote today. He addressed the voters of Bihar, calling them “brothers and sisters, especially the youth,” and encouraged them to vote in record numbers in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections.
He said, “Each and every one of your votes will pave the way to prevent the return of jungle raj in Bihar.” He further wrote in his X post, emphasizing the value of each vote, and asked the people to teach a lesson to those “who toy with the country's security by providing protection to infiltrators and Naxalites.”
RJD leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar, Rabri Devi, has arrived to cast her vote in the Bihar Assembly polls. She extended her wishes to both her sons — Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav of the Jan Shakti Janata Dal. “My best wishes to both my sons,” said Devi. She further stated, “Tej Pratap is contesting on his own. I am their mother. Good luck to both of them.”
Rabri Devi’s younger son, Tejashwi Yadav, arrived with his wife, Rajshree Yadav, at a polling station in Patna to cast their votes. “A new government will be formed on November 14,” said Yadav. After casting his vote, he showed his inked finger and said, "Badlaav kijiye, Naya Bihar banaiye, Nayi Sarkaar banaiye (Bring change, build a new Bihar, form a new government)".
Two women have alleged that they were denied the right to vote in Patna during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections. One of them, identified as Shreya Mehta, claimed that her name was visible on the official voters’ list at serial number 17. She added that she has a digital slip, as the printed one was not provided. She was not permitted to vote due to the absence of a printed voter slip.
BJP’s main contender from Lakhisarai and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, casts his vote in the first phase of the Assembly elections. Sinha expressed gratitude towards the Election Commission, stating that “voting has started peacefully.”
RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav shared a video message at around 1 a.m. ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls. He appealed to all voters — from Gen Zs voting for the first time to every common citizen — to cast their votes.
The caption of the post read, “The future destiny of Bihar will be determined by the single button you press. It is essential for you to vote in the interest of democracy, the Constitution, and humanity.”
As first Phase 1 Polling of Bihar Assembly Election begins in 121 out of 243 seats, Prime Minster Narendra Modi has appealed to voters to vote full enthusiasm and take part in the festival of Democracy. On 6:45 am Today, he posted on X, "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..."
Phase 1 polling in the 2025 Bihar Elections is set to begin at 7:00am on Thursday, 6 November 2025.
The 243-seat Assembly Election will be conducted over two phases – on 6 November and 11 November 2025. 7.4 crore voters will cast ballots, choosing between 2,616 contenders. A three-way contest is expected between the NDA, Mahagathbandhan, and Jan Suraaj Party, with a majority of 122 seats needed to win. Results will be announced on 14 November 2025, before the current Assembly term ends on 22 November 2025.
Phase 1 polls will cover 121 constituencies across 18 districts, with 1,314 candidates contesting. Polling stations will close at 6:00pm. The Chief Election Commissioner has announced that there will be 100% webcasting cross all booths.
Raghopur: In Vaishali district, the main contest will be between Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, Satish Kumar Yadav of BJP, and Chanchal Singh of JSP. This seat is an RJD stronghold and Yadav family bastion. The contest will be a prestige battle for opposition leader Tejashwi, who won by slim margins in 2015 and 2020. A loss here could dent INDIA bloc morale.
Harnaut: In Nalanda district, the main contest will be between Hari Narayan Singh of JD(U), Arun Kumar of INC, and Kamlesh Paswan (ST) of JSP. This seat was Nitish Kumar's original launchpad in 1985. It will test the JD(U)'s hold in the core Yadav-Muslim belt. The seat will act as a test for the NDA’s hold after a close margin in 2020.
Tarapur: In Munger district, the main contest will be between Samrat Choudhary of BJP, Arun Kumar of RJD, and Dr. Santosh Singh of JSP. This is NDA Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary's seat. Intra-alliance tensions and OBC dominance could expose cracks in the NDA’s armour if the Mahagathbandhan consolidates backward votes.
Lakhisarai: In Lakhisarai district, the main contest will be between Vijay Kumar Sinha of BJP, Vijay Prakash of RJD, and Suraj Kumar of JSP. This seat also falls within NDA Deputy CM's turf. It has a mixed urban-rural demography with high migration issues. BJP's narrow win in 2020 faces pushback as RJD doubles down on jobs.
Patna Sahib: In Patna district, the main contest will be between Ratnesh Kumar of BJP, Shashank Shekhar of Congress, and Vinita Mishra of JSP. This seat is an urban hub with EBC and Muslim voters. It is a swing seat that reflects the state capital's anti-incumbency tendencies, revolving around themes of development and law & order.
Phulwari Sharif (SC): In Patna district, the main contest will be between Shyam Rajak of JDU, Gopal Das Rai of CPI (ML), and Prof. Shashikant Prasad of JSP. This is a key SC-reserved seat in Patna. It pits the NDA's Paswan consolidation against the Mahagathbandhan’s Dalit outreach. The 2020 margin was under 5,000 votes.
Mahua: In Vaishali district, the main contest will be between Tej Pratap Yadav of Janshakti Janata Dal, Mukesh Kumar Raushan of RJD, Sanjay Kumar Singh of LJP, and Inderjit Pradhan of JSP. This seat is in the spotlight for the Yadav brothers family feud, with Tejashwi Yadav contesting in nearby Raghopur. It has a strong Yadav-SC-Muslim mix population which could split opposition votes, testing RJD's hold in the Vaishali heartland. RJD won the seat in 2020 with a margin of 20,000.
Mokama: In Patna district, the main contest will be between Anant Kumar Singh of JD(U), Veena Devi of RJD, and Priyadarshi Piyush of JSP. This is a violence-prone seat with EBC-Yadav dynamics. It will feature the return of ‘dreaded’ strongman Anant Singh after a stint in jail. Recently, the seat has seen clashes highlighting its dismal law & order situation. JD(U) faces anti-incumbency here after a narrow win in 2020.
Predictions surveys have projected a close contest between the NDA and Mahagathbandhan alliances, with the NDA inching ahead, and a splashy entry by the new-comer Jan Suraaj Party. Unemployment, corruption, anti-incumbency, outward migration, and the poor quality of public infrastructure and services are the main themes the polls are being fought on.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections, the NDA formed the government after winning 125 seats.
The Bihar assembly election results are highly anticipated, as they follow the controversial special intensive revision undertaken in Bihar which had the opposition levelling allegations of ‘vote chori’ against the ruling government – alluding to collusion between the Election Commission of India and the central BJP government.
Since the ECI has begun a nationwide SIR after a ‘successful’ undertaking in Bihar, the upcoming polls will act as a litmus test for the sanctity of the electoral process in India.
(DS/RS)