Bihar Assembly elections to be held in 2 phases Nov 6 and 11; Results on Nov 14

The Bihar Assembly polls will be held in two phases – on November 6 and November 11 and counting of votes will take place on November 14, the Election Commission of India has announced. 

Out of the total 243 assembly seats, 121 will vote in the first phase and the remaining 122 in the second phase.

This is the first time in three decades that the Bihar assembly election would be held in two phases. Bihar has always voted in three or more phases since 2000. 

“Not only will law and order be fully monitored, but the elections in Bihar will be conducted peacefully and transparently, and will perhaps be considered the best elections ever,” chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar told reporters.

Asked how he hoped to conduct the polls in two phases, Kumar said: “Voter awareness, central armed police forces’ availability, law-and-order assessment and increased efficiency of the Election Commission and its staff.”

Kumar made an announcement that seemed aimed at placating the Opposition, which has long accused the poll panel, without credible evidence, of inflating figures of last-hour polling.

The CEC said: “The reality is that the total number of votes cast at each polling booth is given to each candidate’s polling agent in the form of Form 17C after voting ends. Data entry used to take this long.”

“Recently, in the first three or four by-elections, we implemented a new system to address this confusion. This means that after voting is complete, the polling agents present at the polling station will be given Form 17C. However, the presiding officer will enter the data into the new voter turnout app,” the CEC said.

He added: “In some places where Internet access is not available, they can also enter it offline. Therefore, by the time they reach the counting centre, you will have approximate voting trends, and the possibility of an increase will be eliminated.”

Kumar evaded two key questions on the special intensive revision — the number of foreign nationals found on the voter rolls and the skewed voter gender ratio favouring men.On foreign nationals, Kumar said the data was available at the local and state levels, but had not been publicly disclosed yet.

On why the ratio of women voters had fallen to around 893 from 907 per 1,000 men, he said: “I think these were the points, and as far as the deletion of women voters is concerned, both women’s votes and male votes were deleted. The SIR had a clear slogan — no eligible voter should be left out, and no ineligible voter should be included in the voter list.”

Speaking a day before the Supreme Court’s final hearing of the challenge to the SIR, Kumar did not respond to the question whether the annual special summary revision would take place in states where the SIR is not implemented immediately.

From 6 phases in 2010 to 2 phases in 2025

The Bihar Assembly election in 1995 was held in a single phase — on 2 March 1995. All 324 constituencies of undivided Bihar (including present-day Jharkhand) voted on the same day. In 1990, too, the elections in undivided Bihar were held in a single phase.

In 2000, the Bihar Assembly election was held in three phases in February.

In 2005 two assembly elections were held in Bihar. There was a fractured verdict in the February polls, which were held in three phases. Another election was held in October and November in four phases.

In the 2010 Bihar assembly election, voting was held in six phases in October and November. In 2015, the voting was held in five phases, while in 2020, it was a three-phase election in Bihar.

2020 Bihar Assembly Election

In 2020, the Bihar Assembly election was the first exercise held after COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 Bihar elections were held in three phases on 28 October, 3 November, and 7 November. The results were announced on 10 November.

The incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged as the winner with 125 elected MLAs, whereas the principal opposition coalition of Mahagathbandhan won 110 seats.

2025 Bihar Assembly Election

The term of the incumbent 243-seat Bihar Assembly comes to an end on 22 November.

The 2025 Bihar Assembly Election will be held at 90,712 polling stations. Bihar has 7.43 crore voters, including 3.92 crore men and 3.50 crore women. As many as 1,725 individuals identify as belonging to the ‘third gender’.

The poll dates were announced after a delegation of the Election Commission visited Bihar on October 4 and 5 to review the preparations. Political parties during the visit requested the poll panel that voting be held after the Chhath festival, which lasts from 25 October to 28, and also suggested reducing the number of polling phases, according to reports.

The poll panel is also said to have taken the decision considering the prolonged 2024 Lok Sabha elections – held over seven phases, making them the longest since the 1951-52 elections. The Lok Sabha elections in 2024 saw a dip in voter turnout.