Bihar Assembly Elections: Election Commission to Announce Poll Dates Today

Bihar Assembly Elections: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is all set to announce the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections today at 4 PM.

Holding a press conference yesterday after concluding the two-day review visit to the state, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated that elections in Bihar will be held before November 22, when the term of the state Assembly ends. 

"Bihar has 243 Assembly constituencies - two for STs and 38 for SCs. The term of the Bihar Legislative Assembly ends on November 22, 2025, and elections will be held before that time. The Election Commission trained booth-level officers for the first time. SIR was launched on June 24, 2025, and completed by the deadline," the CEC said.

CEC Kumar congratulated the voters of Bihar for the successful completion of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and urged them to participate actively in the upcoming Assembly elections. He appealed to all voters to treat voting as a festival of democracy to ensure full full participation.

"We congratulate the voters of India. Thank you to everyone for the successful SIR process. I appeal to all the voters of Bihar to celebrate this festival of democracy with the same enthusiasm as you celebrate Chhath. Everyone should vote and ensure their participation," Kumar said.

CEC Lauds Booth-Level Officers

The Chief Election Commissioner praised Bihar’s booth-level officers for their exemplary work in cleaning the voter list. While addressing the press conference in Patna, Kumar said, “Recently, the voter list cleansing work was carried out in Bihar, and the booth-level officers present before us not only carried out the work of cleansing the voter list in their booths, but 90,217 booth-level officers of Bihar performed a work that is exemplary across the country...Just as Vaishali in Bihar showed the world the path to democracy. Together, you will become a source of inspiration for the country in the work of cleansing the voter list.”

The Game of Numbers

The upcoming assembly elections in Bihar is going to be a direct contest between the ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Mahagathbandhan.

The 243-member Bihar Assembly currently has the NDA holding 131 seats - BJP 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, and 2 Independents - while the Mahagathbandhan holds 111 seats, including RJD 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2, and CPI 2.

Key Election Reforms Announced

1. The Election Commission outlined several voter-friendly measures for the upcoming elections in Bihar:
2. Polling station limits: No polling station will have more than 1,200 voters to ensure smoother voting.
3. Booth-level ID cards: Officials will carry identity cards for easier identification by voters.
4. Mobile phones outside booths: Voters’ mobile phones can be deposited in a room outside the booth to prevent disruptions.
5. 100% webcasting: Every polling station in Bihar will be fully webcast.
6. Ballot paper changes: Starting with Bihar, candidate photographs will be in colour, and the serial number font on ballot papers will be larger nationwide for easier identification.

Modified Vote Counting Process

Talking about the vote-counting procedures, the Election Commission informed that the postal ballots will be counted before the final two rounds of EVM counting to improve efficiency.

The Election Commission is also implementing ECI-NET, which will allow citizens to access digital index cards showing total voters and gender breakdown within days of the election’s conclusion.