The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Thursday, November 6, with voting held in 121 out of the state’s 243 constituencies. The polls began at 7 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m., marking the start of a high-stakes triangular contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the opposition Mahagathbandhan, and Prashant Kishor’s newly launched Jan Suraaj Party.
By 5 p.m., Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 60.13%, according to the Election Commission. Begusarai registered the highest turnout at 67.32%, while Sheikhpura saw the lowest at 52.36%. A total of 3.75 crore voters were eligible to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates contesting across 18 districts, including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Nalanda, and Bhojpur.
Among the key candidates were RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav, who contested from Raghopur; his brother Tej Pratap Yadav, who fought from Mahua on a Janshakti Janata Dal ticket; BJP’s Maithili Thakur, contesting from Alinagar; and Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, representing the BJP from Tarapur. JD(U)’s Anant Singh, currently in jail over a murder case, contested from Mokama.
The NDA, led by Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, also includes Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha. On the other side, the Mahagathbandhan is made up of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI(M), CPI(ML), and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party.
The 2025 election also marks the debut of political strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which has fielded candidates in all 243 constituencies.
Out of the total voters, around 10.72 lakh were first-time voters. Of the 45,341 polling stations across the 121 constituencies, 36,733 were located in rural areas. There were 320 model polling stations, 926 all-women-managed booths, and 107 managed by people with disabilities.
Tejashwi Yadav expressed confidence after casting his vote, saying, “People of Bihar want change. This election is about employment, education, and dignity.” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, however, said, “The NDA will win comfortably. People trust the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.”
