The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began early on Thursday, November 6, 2025, with over 3.75 crore voters eligible to cast their votes across 121 constituencies. Polling started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m. at 45,341 polling stations across the state. According to Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, voter turnout stood at 13.13% by 9 a.m., with Saharsa district recording the highest participation at 15.27%.
This first phase is crucial for both major alliances, especially the Mahagatbandhan, which had won 63 of these 121 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections. It is also a significant test for smaller parties within the alliances. For the Left, the CPI(ML) is contesting in 20 constituencies, 10 of which fall in this phase, including six seats the party currently holds. On the NDA side, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) is contesting in 10 of the 29 seats allotted to it, but the party had won only one of these in 2020. The LJP(RV)’s share of seats has caused friction within the NDA, with the JD(U) reportedly unhappy over what it sees as an outsized allocation for a party with little representation in the Assembly.
Several big names are contesting in this phase, including Tejashwi Yadav, the Opposition’s chief ministerial candidate, as well as more than a dozen ministers from the Nitish Kumar government, such as Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. The polls have also attracted public attention with the participation of cultural figures like Maithili folk singer Maithili Thakur, contesting from Aliganj on a BJP ticket, Bhojpuri star Khesari Lal Yadav representing the RJD from Chhapra, and singer-turned-politician Ritesh Pandey from the Jan Suraaj Party contesting in Kargahar.
