Delhi [India], November 6 (HBTV): The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began early Thursday (November 6, 2025), with more than 3.75 crore voters expected to cast their ballots across 121 of the State’s 243 constituencies. Voting commenced at 7 a.m. and will continue until 5 p.m. across 45,341 polling stations.
By 9 a.m., the polling percentage stood at 13.13 per cent, with Saharsa district recording the highest turnout at 15.27 per cent. This phase holds particular significance for the Mahagathbandhan, which secured 63 of these seats in the 2020 elections. The BJP and Janata Dal (United) together had won 55 in the same phase.
The phase is also critical for smaller parties within both alliances. Of the 20 seats the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation is contesting, 10 fall under this phase, six of which it currently holds. Within the NDA, 10 of the 29 seats allotted to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) are going to polls today, though the alliance holds only one of these seats. The LJP(RV)’s seat allocation had earlier sparked discontent among NDA allies, particularly the JD(U), which argued that the share was disproportionate to the party’s current strength in the Assembly.
Several prominent candidates are in the fray in this phase, including the Opposition’s Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, along with more than a dozen BJP and JD(U) Ministers from the Nitish Kumar government, such as Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. Among the notable new faces contesting are young folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP–Aliganj), and Bhojpuri actors Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD–Chhapra) and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party–Kargahar).
(Inputs from The Hindu)