First Phase of Bihar Assembly Elections Witnesses Record 64.66pc Voter Turnout
New Delhi, Nov 6: The first phase of Bihar Assembly elections concluded peacefully in a festive mood today with the highest ever voter turnout of 64.66% in the history of Bihar, PIB Press release mentioned. CEC Gyanesh Kumar along with ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi kept a close watch on the polling through live-webcasting which has been ensured in 100% of the Polling Stations for the first time in Bihar.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar personally engaged with the Presiding Officers and DEOs from the Control Room in ECI to ensure that the polling progressed smoothly.
121 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in 18 districts in the State went to polls today, with a total electorate of over 3.75 crore.
Over 4 Lakh Polling related Staff reached the respective polling stations by 11.20 PM last night itself. Mock polls were completed before 7 AM today in the presence of over 67,902 Polling Agents appointed by 1,314 contesting candidates and polling began peacefully at all 45,341 polling stations simultaneously.
Over 90,000 Jeevika Didis/female volunteers along with one CAPF personnel were deployed across all Polling Stations for the identification of Purdahnasheen women.
Bihar Elections 2025 Phase-I: Historic 64.66% Voter Turnout ECI’s new initiatives make voting a most pleasant experience for voters: ECI pic.twitter.com/7grk8Hesbf
— IANS (@ians_india) November 6, 2025
Meantime, IANS reported Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar congratulates the electors of the State for the historic voter turnout in Phase I of Bihar Assembly Elections since 1951. He also thanked the Electors for expressing their complete faith in the Election Commission of India and turning out to vote in such large numbers with fervour and enthusiasm. He also thanked the entire election machinery for working with full transparency and dedication.
The initial data on turnout recorded on Thursday hinted that the first phase of voting in Bihar had bettered the record of the past three Assembly elections. In 2020, the turnout in the first phase was 56.1 per cent; in 2015 it was 55.9 per cent, and in 2010 it was 52.1 per cent.
Till 7 p.m., the turnout stood at 63.25 per cent, improving from 60.13 per cent that was recorded till 5 p.m. on the 121 seats spread across 188 districts, said an election official.
Till 7 p.m., Muzaffarpur district recorded the highest turnout of 70.96 per cent. Samastipur district recorded 70.63 per cent, and Begusarai recorded 68.26 per cent.
Earlier, till 5 p.m., Begusarai district topped with 68.26 per cent voting, followed by Samastipur district with 66.65 per cent and Madhepura with 65.74 per cent.
Begusarai district’s Bachhwara seat (AC 142) recorded the highest turnout of 69.67 per cent till 5 p.m., said ECI data.
Over 53.77 per cent of eligible electors had cast their votes by 3 p.m. Patna district recorded the most sluggish polling, with turnout reaching 48.69 per cent till 3 p.m.
Among the seven Assembly constituencies in Begusarai district, Cherai-Bariarpur (AC 141) recorded the highest turnout of 62.55 per cent by 3 p.m. It was followed by Bachhwara (AC 142) with 60.98 per cent voting percentage till 3 p.m. and Teghra (AC 143) with 60.27 per cent turnout.
The turnout in Bhojpur district at 3 p.m. was 50.07 per cent, Buxar 51.69 per cent, Darbhanga 51.75 per cent, Gopalganj 58.17 per cent, Khagaria 54.77 per cent, Lakhisarai 57.39 per cent, Madhepura 55.96 per cent, Munger 52.17 per cent, Muzaffarpur 58.40 per cent, Nalanda 52.32 per cent, Patna 48.69 per cent, Saharsa 55.22 per cent, Samastipur 56.35 per cent, Saran 54.60 per cent, Sheikhpur 49.37 per cent, Siwan 50.93 per cent and Vaishali 53.63 per cent.
The average voter turnout by 1 p.m. was 42.31 per cent across 121 Assembly constituencies spread across 18 districts, said the ECI.
An average voter turnout of 27.65 per cent was recorded till 11 a.m. on Thursday, across 18 districts, according to the Chief Electoral Officer.
A total of 1,314 candidates — including 1,192 men and 122 women — are in the fray in this phase. The Election Commission stated that 3.75 crore electors, comprising 1.98 crore men, 1.76 crore women, and 758 third-gender voters, are eligible to vote across 45,341 polling stations, of which 36,733 are in rural and 8,608 in urban areas.
The ECI has designated 320 model booths, 926 women-managed stations, and 107 managed by persons with disabilities. Webcasting facilities have been set up in all polling stations for real-time monitoring.
In the First Phase of Bihar Assembly Elections, over 15 battalions of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the 18 districts, with special attention to sensitive and Naxal-affected areas where voting will conclude an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Mock polling exercises were conducted early in the morning to verify systems before the start of voting.
