The Election Commission of India has announced that the Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, with the first phase covering 121 assembly constituencies on November 6, 2025, and the second phase covering 122 constituencies on November 11, 2025.
"It is mandatory to complete counting of postal ballots before the last two rounds of counting of votes," Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16. The current assembly's term ends on November 22, 2025.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressing the media, stated that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, conducted for the first time in 22 years, has successfully "purified" the rolls.
The revision, which started on June 24, 2025, with the draft voter list published on August 1, citizens were given time to file claims or objections until September 1, and the final voter list was released on September 30.
Kumar emphasized that appeals for any remaining errors can still be filed with the District Magistrate, and that the window for objections during the SIR remains open to ensure accuracy and integrity.
"The final voter's list after SIR has been given to all political parties. Post the date of nomination filing, the Voters' list, which is to be released, will be final," he added.
For the first phase, the last date of filing nominations is October 17 while the scrutiny will be held on October 18. The last date of withdrawal of candidature for first phase elections is October 20.
Similarly, for the second phase, the last date of filing nominations is October 20 while scrutiny will be held on October 21. The last date of withdrawal of candidature for the first phase elections is October 23.
The term of the current Assembly ends on November 22. Bihar has 243 constituencies, including two reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 38 for Scheduled Castes.
Chief Election Commissioner Kumar termed the Bihar elections as "mother of all elections".
The Election Commission has issued a series of directives to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polling across the state. The panel emphasized absolutely zero tolerance for any form of violence and made it clear that there is no scope for intimidation or threats against voters or candidates.
To build confidence among the electorate, adequate deployment of Central Armed Police Forces will be arranged well in advance. Officers have been instructed to act impartially and remain easily accessible to all stakeholders, ensuring that any grievances or complaints from political parties are addressed promptly and transparently.
The Commission also highlighted the importance of countering misinformation, directing district-level social media teams to respond to fake news in a timely manner. Additionally, strict vigilance will be maintained at various checkpoints to prevent the illegal movement of drugs, liquor, or other contraband.
Kumar added that there are a total of 243 assembly seats in Bihar. The total number of electors stands at 7.43 crore, including around 14 lakh first-time voters, Four lakh are senior citizens, and 14,000 have completed 100 years of age.
To further enhance transparency and address past grievances, Kumar said webcasting will now be conducted from 100 per cent of polling booths, up from 50 per cent in previous elections. Candidates’ photographs on EVMs, which were previously in black and white, will now appear in colour with a larger font size, addressing earlier complaints.
CEC also announced that new voter cards will be issued to individuals whose names have been recently added to the electoral rolls.
Kumar said the ECI’s new “Net-One” single-window app, described as the mother of all election apps, will be launched and fully operational starting with the Bihar elections.
Responding to a question about ghungat and burqa clad women during the press conference, Kumar said there are clear guidelines of the Election Commission about the verification of identity inside polling booths and they will be strictly followed.
"Our anganwadi workers will be deployed at all polling booths for verifying the identity of burqa-clad women. The guidelines of the commission are very clear about this -- that how identity is verified inside a polling station and they will be strictly followed," he said.
Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal had on Saturday urged the Election Commission to ensure that faces of women turning up at booths in burqas were tallied with voter cards.
The Election Commission also announced that by-elections will be held on November 11, 2025, for eight assembly constituencies across seven states — Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana, Punjab, Mizoram, and Odisha. Counting of votes is scheduled for November 14.
The by-elections have been necessitated due to resignations, disqualifications, and deaths of sitting MLAs.