PATNA: Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 64.66 per cent in the first phase of the state assembly elections held on Thursday across 121 of the 243 constituencies. The Election Commission said it was the highest-ever polling percentage in the state since the first elections held in 1951-52.
According to officials in the state election office, the turnout this time surpassed the 62.57 per cent recorded in the 2020 assembly elections in undivided Bihar. The EC expressed satisfaction over the record polling and said it reflected the growing participation of voters in the democratic process.
The high turnout led to claims and counterclaims between the ruling NDA and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan. The ruling alliance said women voters once again came out in large numbers and supported Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, just as they did in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Record-breaking turnout means women, farmers, youth to retain NDA government in Bihar.” Union Minister and BJP’s Bihar in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan said the high turnout sent “a strong message for building a new Bihar that is inclusive of all sections of society.”
On the other hand, Opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said the high turnout reflected the people’s desire for change. “The high voter turnout is for a change, a change of government,” he told reporters. Yadav said the enthusiasm among voters, especially women, was due to the Opposition’s welfare promises, such as the ‘Mai-Bhain Samman Yojna’, under which each woman will get Rs 30,000 annually (Rs 2,500 per month) from January 14, 2026, if the Mahagathbandhan forms the government.
Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor also said the record turnout showed that “change is coming to Bihar”.