War for Bihar’s Power Begins: 3.75 Crore Voters Gear Up for Bihar’s First Phase of Elections

Patna: All plans are in place for the first round of Bihar elections on Thursday in 121 seats, with 3.75 crore voters eligible to vote at 45,341 polling stations. 

The first round of voting will determine the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates. The second phase of assembly elections will take place on November 11 with results revealed on November 14.

Several key figures, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP's Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, will be decided by the first round of voting. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the running for the first phase.

The 121 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase are divided across 18 districts. The Election Commission reports that there are 7.78 lakh voters in the 18–19 age range and 10.72 lakh "new electors." 

According to the Election Commission, there are 6.60 crore people living in these constituencies. Polling agents have received Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from presiding officers prior to election day.

According to Central City Patna Superintendent of Police Diksha, every preparation has been done for a seamless and peaceful election.

"Area domination will be done, and patrolling parties will conduct raids tonight. From morning, there will be checks at the zonal and super zonal levels. Quick Response Teams have been formed. Communication channels have been established. We expect voters to vote peacefully. Women-specific and disability-friendly booths have been set up. CAPF and State Police have been deployed at polling stations. Boats have also been arranged for polling parties." 

Also Read: Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, Phase 1 Voting LIVE: Polling Across 121 Constituencies Begins

Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, is running from Raghopur. Satish Kumar Yadav of the BJP, who was defeated in the 2020 assembly elections, is an uphill battle for the seat, which he has held since 2015. 

Prem Kumar is the candidate put forward by Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged brother of Tejashwi Yadav, who founded the Janshakti Janta Dal following his departure from the RJD. Chanchal Singh has been fielded by Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, which may change the situation in Raghopur. 

Tej Pratap Yadav of the Mahua constituency is competing.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary of the BJP, Arun Kumar of the RJD, and Santosh Kumar Singh of Jan Suraaj are running for the Tarapur seat in the Munger district. In both the 2010 and 2015 elections, the JD(U) candidates won the seat. 

Vijay Kumar Sinha, the deputy chief minister, is running for the Lakhisarai seat. He is up against Jan Suraaj's Suraj Kumar and Amaresh Kumar of the Congress. 

Following Dularchand Yadav's murder, the Mokama constituency has been in the news. Mokama, which is well-known for conflicts between strongmen or "bahubalis," will have a contest between Veena Devi, the wife of prominent politician and former MP Surajbhan Singh, and JD(U) candidate Anant Kumar Singh, who has been detained in connection with the murder case.

The contest on the seat is between relatively new faces. Ratnesh Kumar, also known as Ratnesh Khushwaha, has been fielded by the BJP, whereas Shashant Shekhar has been awarded a ticket by the Congress. 

Folk singer Maithili Thakur of the BJP is running against 63-year-old RJD candidate Binod Mishra in Darbhanga. 

The youngest contender, 25-year-old Maithili Thakur, would become the youngest MLA if elected. 

The first phase of voting will start at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. In certain constituencies, the polling period has been reduced to 5 p.m. due to security concerns.

Although Patna Sahib has always been a BJP stronghold, the Speaker of the outgoing assembly, Nand Kishore Yadav, is not running this time. 

In the initial round of voting, there are 122 female contenders. In this stage, the Jan Suraj Party fielded 119 candidates. JD(U) is running for 57 seats in the NDA, followed by BJP on 48 and LJP (Ram Vilas) on 14. 

RJD is running for 73 seats in the first phase among the Mahagathbandhan constituency, followed by 24 seats from Congress and 14 seats from CPI (ML). Mahagathbandhan constituents will engage in friendly combat for a few seats. 

The International Election Visitors' Programme 2025 was launched by the Election Commission on Tuesday. Participants will observe the first round of voting in Bihar.

One of the ECI's main initiatives for international collaboration and interaction with other nations' Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and international organizations is the IEVP. 

Since 2014, the IEVP has shared best practices for conducting elections in the largest democracy in the world and highlighted the advantages of India's electoral system to the global community.