Bihar Assembly Elections To Be Held On November 6 & 11; Counting Of Votes On Nov 14

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, with voting to take place in two phases — on November 6 and November 11 — and counting of votes scheduled for November 14. Bypolls for eight assembly seats will also be held on November 11, the Election Commission said.

The announcement sets the stage for one of India’s most politically significant state elections, as the Model Code of Conduct comes into immediate effect across Bihar.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said the Commission was fully prepared to ensure a free, fair, and transparent electoral process. Bihar, he said, has a total of 7.42 crore registered voters, including 3.92 crore men and 3.5 crore women, while 14 lakh will be voting for the first time. Around 14,000 voters are aged over 100 years, and polling will be conducted across 90,712 polling stations.

Kumar added that all election officials had been instructed to act “in an absolutely impartial way and remain accessible to stakeholders.” He said that any misinformation propagated through media outlets or social platforms would be promptly countered by the Election Commission.

The Commission highlighted that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had been carried out to sanitise electoral rolls in Bihar. New voter identity cards will be issued to those newly enrolled or who have updated their details. “Earlier, this process took several days,” Kumar said. “Now, with our new SOPs, voter cards will be issued within 15 days.”

In a bid to strengthen security and accessibility, police patrolling on horseback will take place at 250 polling stations, while polling parties will travel by boat to reach 197 polling stations. The CEC said the administration had been directed to maintain zero tolerance for any violence or intimidation, ensuring voters and candidates could participate without fear.

To enhance transparency, webcasting will be conducted from 100% of polling booths, compared to 50% in previous elections. Kumar also noted that candidate photographs on EVMs will now be in colour, with larger font sizes, addressing earlier complaints about visibility.

He further said that postal ballots must be fully counted before the last two rounds of vote counting on November 14 to improve efficiency and accuracy in results.

Detailing the Election Commission’s preparations, Kumar said the poll body had reviewed law and order arrangements across districts and coordinated with central agencies to ensure logistical readiness. Training programmes for election officials have been completed, and the Commission has put in place mechanisms to monitor poll expenditure and curb the use of money or inducements. Special observers will be deployed in sensitive constituencies, and accessibility measures have been expanded to facilitate participation by persons with disabilities and elderly voters.

The 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly will complete its term on 22 November, and the new government will need to be constituted before that date.

Schedule for the General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar

First Phase

(121 Assembly Constituencies)

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: October 10, 2025 (Friday)

Last Date for Making Nominations: October 17, 2025 (Friday)

Date for the Scrutiny of Nominations: October 18, 2025 (Saturday)

Last Date for the Withdrawal of Candidatures: October 20, 2025 (Monday)

Date of Poll: November 6, 2025 (Thursday)

Second Phase

(122 Assembly Constituencies)

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: October 13, 2025 (Monday)

Last Date for Making Nominations: October 20, 2025 (Monday)

Date for the Scrutiny of Nominations: October 21, 2025 (Tuesday)

Last Date for the Withdrawal of Candidatures: October 23, 2025 (Thursday)

Date of Poll: November 11, 2025 (Tuesday)

Date of Counting: November 14, 2025 (Friday)

Date Before Which Election Shall Be Completed: November 16, 2025 (Sunday)

Also Read: What Is ECI-Net? How Will This Digital Tool Revolutionize Bihar Assembly Elections?