Bihar Election 2025 dates announced: Polling from 6th November in 2 phases, results expected before November 22, 7.42 crore voters.
The Election Commission of India (EC) has officially announced the dates for the Bihar Assembly elections 2025, with polling scheduled to be held from 6th November and 11th November. The results will be declared on November 22, 2025, marking a crucial electoral exercise in India’s third-largest state by population.
This year's Bihar polls are the initial Assembly elections following the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' rolls, in which 68.5 lakh voters were deleted and 21.5 lakh names were added. The total electorate now stands at almost 7.43 crore voters, which shows a huge effort to clean up the rolls.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that every polling station will now have 1,200 voters, instead of 1,500 as was the case in past elections. This reduction is meant to ease congestion, shorten queues, and add convenience to voters.
The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed in larger numbers so that all polling stations are conducted with ease. The decision to conduct fewer phases came after consulting political parties, balancing voter accessibility with logistical efficiency.
The 2020 elections to the Bihar Assembly were conducted over three phases, between October 28 and November 7, with the counting of votes taking place on November 10. The then-voter turnout stood at 56.93%, with women voters numbering 59.69% and men voters 54.45%. The 2025 reformations such as booth capacity reduction and more security are anticipated to make the process more streamlined and the experience more pleasant for voters.
The future polls will witness the ruling NDA government under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar facing the challenge of the Opposition coalition of the RJD and Congress, along with fresh entrants such as Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj.
In the previous election, RJD had been the largest party with 75 seats, while the JD(U)-BJP alliance had won 117 seats. After the entry of new parties and new electoral rolls being recalibrated, the 2025 elections should be very competitive.
