The first phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 saw brisk polling on Thursday, with 64.66% voter turnout, according to the Election Commission of India.
The voter turnout in the 2025 assembly elections remains the highest since the 2000 assembly elections, according to Election Commission data. The voting percentage in 2000 was 62.57 per cent.
Of the 45,341 polling booths in Bihar, the voter turnout of 64.46 per cent is based on data from 41,943 booths. The Bihar CEO said that the final data will be available in due course.
A total of 121 constituencies went to the polls in the first phase assembly election held in the state on Thursday after conclusion of Special Intensive Roll of electoral list. The oppositon parties had expressed strong reservations over the SIR process. The overall voter turnout in the 2015 and 2020 Bihar assembly elections was 56.66 per cent and 57.29 per cent, respectively. Voter turnout stood was 52.67 per cent. Voting was held in three phases in 2020.
As of 8 pm today, a turnout of 53.24 per cent per cent was recorded in Bhojpur district, followed by 57.39 per cent in Buxar, 58.38 per cent in Darbhanga, 60.65 per cent in Khagaria, 54.90 per cent in Munger, 57.58 per cent in Nalanda, 62.65 per cent in Saharsa, 66.88 per cent in Samastipur, 61.52 per cent in Saran, 53.45 per cent in Sheikhpura, 57.41 per cent in Siwan, and 59.45 per cent in Vaishali.
Leaders Cast Votes And React
Prominent political figures were among the early voters. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav along with Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, cast their votes in the morning hours.
Speaking to reporters after voting, Bihar Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav appealed to citizens to participate enthusiastically in the electoral process.
“This is the festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to come out and vote to form a good government in Bihar. Everyone must exercise their right to vote,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha expressed strong confidence in the NDA’s prospects, saying early trends indicated a clear advantage.
“People are voting for NDA in numbers beyond our expectations. The trends across Bihar show strong support for NDA,” Kushwaha said.
He also took a swipe at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, adding,
“It’s natural for him to claim victory at this stage — he needs to keep his workers motivated. But the ground reality clearly favours the NDA.”
Key Leaders in The Fray
The first phase will decide the political fate of several heavyweight leaders — including Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD), Samrat Choudhary (BJP), Mangal Pandey (BJP), and JD(U)’s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also contesting in this phase.
Polling is scheduled to conclude at 6 PM, though in a few sensitive constituencies, the Election Commission has shortened voting hours to 5 PM for security reasons.
