Bihar Elections 2025: Voting begins for final phase across 122 seats; 1,302 candidates in fray

Polling began on Tuesday morning for the second and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, with over 37 million voters eligible to cast their ballots across 122 constituencies in 20 districts.

Voting commenced at 7 AM and will continue until 5 PM, with the Election Commission clarifying that voters already in queue by the closing time will still be allowed to exercise their franchise.

According to election officials, 1,302 candidates are contesting in this decisive round, which will determine the final outcome in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. More than 45,399 polling stations have been set up to facilitate the voting process, with arrangements made to ensure order, accessibility, and security.

37 Million Voters Set To Decide Bihar’s Political Future

Out of the total electorate, about 19.5 million are men and 17.4 million are women. Polling is being held across key districts, including Katihar, Jamui, Sitamarhi, Bhagalpur, Bettiah, and Valmiki Nagar, which are constituencies that have drawn significant attention due to heavyweight candidates and close contests.

This final phase is being seen as the most crucial leg of the Bihar polls, as it will decide whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United)-BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will retain power, or if the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led INDIA bloc, spearheaded by Tejashwi Yadav, can stage a comeback.

Key Candidates In The Fray

Prominent figures contesting in this phase include former deputy chief ministers Tarkishore Prasad (Katihar) and Renu Devi, former assembly speaker Uday Narain Choudhary (Sikandra), and several ex-ministers such as Vinay Bihari (Lauriya), Narayan Prasad (Nautan), Shamim Ahmed (Narkatia), Rana Randhir Singh (Madhuban), Pramod Kumar (Motihari), and Sunil Kumar Pintu (Sitamarhi).

Constituencies like Kahalgaon, Forbesganj, Mokama, and Narpatganj have also emerged as keenly contested battlegrounds, with multi-cornered fights expected in several places. Security forces have been deployed across all polling stations, particularly in vulnerable pockets, to ensure smooth voting.

Phase 1 Witnessed Strong Voter Turnout

The first phase of polling, held on November 6 across 121 constituencies in 18 districts, saw a turnout of 60.25%, according to the Election Commission, slightly lower than the preliminary figure of 64.66% recorded earlier in the day. 

Following a special revision of electoral rolls earlier this year, Bihar’s total electorate stands at approximately 74.2 million, down from 78.9 million during the 2020 elections.

Counting Of Votes On November 14

Counting for all 243 Assembly seats will take place on November 14, 2025, under tight security arrangements across multiple counting centres. Election officials have said that all EVMs and VVPATs will be securely transported to strongrooms after polling concludes, with three-tier security in place.