The elections to Bihar Assembly will be conducted in two phases, covering all 243 constituencies in the State. The first phase of polling will take place on November 6 for 121 constituencies, while the second phase on November 11 will cover the remaining 122 constituencies. Counting of votes will be done on November 14, said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday.

Bihar election schedule: Follow highlights, major updates on October 6, 2025

Bypolls to Budgam and Nagrota constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir; Anta in Rajasthan; Ghatsila (Scheduled Tribe) in Jharkhand; Jubilee Hills in Telangana; Tarn Taran in Punjab; Dampa (Scheduled Tribe) in Mizoram; and Nuapada in Odisha will be held on November 11. The votes will be counted on November 14.

There are 203 general constituencies, two reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and 38 for Scheduled Castes in Bihar. The State has 7.43 crore eligible voters, including close to 3.92 crore men, 3.50 crore women, and 1,725 transgender persons. About 14.01 lakh are first-time voters (18-19 age group); 1.63 crore are in the 20-29 age group; 4.04 lakh are very senior citizens (above 85); and about 14,000 are centenarians, besides 1.63 lakh service electors and 7.2 lakh voters with disabilities.

The gazette notification for the first phase of polling will be issued on October 10, and the last date to file nominations is October 17. For the second phase, the gazette notification will be issued on October 13, and the last date to file nominations is October 20.

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Webcasting of all stations

At a press conference, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said the final electoral roll has been shared with all the political parties. In case voters notice errors in the list, they can file an appeal with the District Magistrate. If any eligible person has been left out, they can have their names added until 10 days before the last date for filing nominations.

Mr. Kumar said that of the total 90,712 polling stations across the State, 13,911 will cover urban areas and 76,801 will be set up in rural areas. While 292 of these stations will be managed by persons with disabilities, 1,044 will be managed by women, and 38 by youth. The average number of eligible voters per polling station is 818. “Webcasting will be done at all the polling stations for the first time,” he said.

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“Police patrolling on horseback will be done across “diara” regions covering 250 polling stations, and patrolling parties will use boats at 197 polling stations,” said the CEC.

He said there will be one General Observer (senior bureaucrats from outside the State) per constituency, apart from 38 Police and 67 Expenditure Observers in Bihar. A total of 8.5 lakh officials, including 4.53 lakh polling and 2.5 lakh police personnel, 90,712 anganwadi sevikas (who may also assist in verifying identities of ‘burqa-clad’ women voters if required), 17,800 micro observers for polling and 4,800 for counting, 28,300 counting officials, and 9,600 sector officers, will be deployed.

Postal ballot counting

On the preparation of electoral rolls, Mr. Kumar said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) went on from June 24 to July 25, and the draft list was published and distributed among stakeholders, including political parties, on August 1. Voters, parties, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) were given ample opportunity to file claims and objections. The final list was published on September 30.

Describing the SIR as the process of “purification” of electoral rolls that would set a benchmark for future revisions, Mr. Kumar said close to 69 lakh names have been struck off the list. The reasons included deaths, unproven citizenship, duplicate entries, or permanent migration to other States. He said a breakup could not be given in a “decentralised” set-up as Electoral Registration Officers make voter lists. It can be appealed before District Magistrates and the Chief Electoral Officer.

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Given the demand from several political parties, the Commission has now made it mandatory to complete postal ballot counting before the last two rounds of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)/Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) counting. The counting of VVPAT slips will be mandatory in case of a mismatch between form 17C, which contains details of votes polled per booth among other crucial data, and EVM data and wherever mock-poll data has not been erased erroneously.

Among 17 new initiatives taken by the Commission are facilities to deposit mobile phones at polling stations and a one-stop digital platform named ECINet, on which real-time voter turnout updates will be given.