Several top leaders are in fray in this phase, including the Mahagatbandhan's Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav.
Published Nov 06, 2025 | 9:10 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 06, 2025 | 9:10 AM
Voters lined up at a polling booth in Bihar. (CEO Bihar)
Synopsis: The first phase of the Assembly elections is underway in Bihar. In the first phase, voting is ongoing at 121 constituencies across 18 districts out of the total of 243 constituencies, with 1,314 candidates in the fray.
Bihar goes to the polls on Thursday, 6 November, as the first phase of the Assembly elections gets underway in the state. In the first phase, voting is ongoing at 121 constituencies across 18 districts out of the total of 243 constituencies, with 1,314 candidates in the fray.
While the general polling hours are from 7 am to 6 pm, voting in some constituencies and booths will conclude earlier, at 4 pm or 5 pm.
This phase is particularly significant for the Mahagatbandhan, consisting primarily of the RJD, Congress and the Left parties, which had secured 63 of these seats in the 2020 elections. The BJP and JD(U) had together won 55. Former pollster Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj is also in the fray for the first time.
Candidates for the first phase filed nominations by 17 October, with scrutiny on 18 October, and the last date for withdrawal was on 20 October.
Several top leaders are in fray in this phase, including the Mahagatbandhan’s Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and over a dozen BJP and JD(U) Ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.
Young folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP-Aliganj), and Bhojpuri superstars Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD-Chhapra) and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party – Kargahar) are contesting in the first phase.
The first phase is also crucial for several small parties, including the CPI(ML) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas).
Ten of the 20 seats CPI(ML) is contesting fall under this phase, out of which they hold six seats. In NDA, 10 of the 29 seats that the LJP(RV) contested are in the first phase. NDA holds only one of these ten seats.
Over 7.4 crore people — 3.92 crore men and 3.5 crore women — are eligible to vote in the Bihar Assembly elections, including 14 lakh first-time voters. The second phase will take place on 11 November, and the counting of votes on 14 November.
In the second phase, polling will take place at 122 constituencies.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had announced that webcasting will be conducted from all polling stations to enhance transparency and monitoring during the election process.
The polling in Bihar takes significance amid Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of fake voters in voter rolls across several states in the country.
