Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Polling to Take Place on 6 November and 11 November, Counting on 14 November

Bihar Assembly Election 2025: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is to announce the schedule of the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections in a press conference today, Monday, 6 October 2025.

The announcement is likely to be made by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu at 4pm. This follows a two-day review carried out by the ECI to evaluate the preparedness of the state to conduct polls. On Sunday, 5 October 2025, the CEC announced that 17 new initiatives are going to be carried out during the Bihar elections – some during polling, others while counting.

Other than the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), other poll processes have also been revised: election teams, including BLOs and staff, will receive double renumeration. EVMs will feature color photographs of candidates. Stations will have phone deposit booths. And, importantly, 100% webcasting will be carried out in every booth.

The current term of the Bihar Assembly expires on 22 November 2025, so polls will have to be concluded before then. Effort is also being made to avoid overlap with Diwali and Chhath from 18 – 28 October 2025, important festivals in the state.

The election is expected to be a triangular contest between the NDA and UPA alliances, and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party. Currently, the NDA alliance, led by the BJP and JDU, holds 134 seats in the Assembly. The UPA’s ‘Mahagathbandhan’, led by the INC and RJD, holds 111 seats. Jan Suraaj is making its debut.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) kicked off its highly anticipated press conference at 4 PM IST today at Vigyan Bhawan, marking the start of the official unveiling of the Bihar Assembly election schedule. However, as of 4:06 PM, specific poll dates and phases remain unannounced, with the briefing still in progress amid tight security and intense political anticipation.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, arrived at the venue shortly before the scheduled time, setting the stage for what promises to be a pivotal moment for Bihar's 243-seat legislative assembly. The state's current term expires on November 22, necessitating polls well in advance. This election will be the first major test post a comprehensive Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which scrubbed 68.5 lakh ineligible voters and added 21.5 lakh new ones, resulting in a finalized list of 7.42 crore electors as of September 30.

Polling will take place in two phases. 121 constituencies will go to polls on 6 November and 122 constituencies on 11 November. Results to be counted on 14 November. 16 November was listed as the final date for conclusion of the entire process.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar announced that the penultimate round of EVM/VVPAT vote counting will take place after the counting of postal ballots.

ECI announced the election schedule for by elections in J&K, Odisha, Punjab, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Jharkhand. Polling for all specified wars will take place on 11 November and votes will be counted on 14 November.