Voting in the first phase of the Bihar assembly election 2025 began on Thursday across 121 seats in 18 districts. Over 3.75 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,314 candidates, including key leaders like Tejashwi Yadav and Samrat Choudhary. Polling runs from 7 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m.
Voting in the first phase of the Bihar assembly election 2025 commenced on November 6, 2025, covering 121 assembly seats in 18 districts: Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur. A total of 3.75 crore voters are eligible, including 1.98 crore men, 1.76 crore women, and 758 third gender voters. There are 10.72 lakh new electors and 7.38 lakh in the 18-19 age group. Polling is set up at 45,341 stations, with 36,733 in rural areas. 1,314 candidates are contesting, including 122 women.
Key contests include Raghopur, where RJD's Tejashwi Yadav (Mahagathbandhan's CM face) faces BJP's Satish Kumar and Jan Suraaj Party's Chanchal Kumar. In Mahua, Tej Pratap Yadav is running on his Janshakti Janata Dal ticket. Tarapur pits Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary (BJP) against RJD's Arun Shah. Other notable races: BJP's Maithili Thakur in Alinagar, Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha in Lakhisarai, JDU's Anant Singh (arrested in the Dular Chand Yadav murder case) in Mokama, and RJD's Osama Shahab (son of late Mohammad Shahabuddin) in Raghunathpur. In Siwan, former BJP state chief Mangal Pandey takes on RJD's Awadh Bihari Chaudhary. Bhojpuri star Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD) contests Chhapra, while Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj) runs in Kargahar.
In 2020, the Mahagathbandhan won 63 of these 121 seats, while the NDA secured 55. The NDA comprises BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha. The Mahagathbandhan includes RJD, Congress, CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M), and Vikassheel Insaan Party. The Jan Suraaj Party is making its electoral debut. In Munger, Jan Suraaj's Sanjay Singh defected to BJP, endorsing NDA candidate Kumar Pranay.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed on X: “Today in Bihar is the first phase of the festival of democracy. My appeal to all voters of this phase in the Assembly elections is that they should vote with full enthusiasm. On this occasion, my special congratulations to all my young companions of the state who are going to cast their vote for the first time. Remember—first voting, then refreshments!” The second phase covers 122 seats on November 11, with results on November 14.
