Bihar Elections Phase 1 In Full Swing, 10 Facts You Need To Know

The first phase of Bihar Elections has begun on Thursday, November 6, covering 121 out of the state's 243 constituencies. The total registered voters in the first round of Bihar elections 2025 stands at 37.5 million voters, which includes 1.07 million first-time voters.

This phase includes 1,314 candidates inclusive of top leaders like BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav.

Also Read: Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, Phase 1 Voting LIVE

The other key candidates to look out for are Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD-Chhapra), Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party-Kargahar), and Maithili Thakur (BJP-Aliganj). Voting in Bihar today will happen at 45,341 polling stations, with 36,733 located in rural localities.

What To Look Out For In Bihar Elections 2025?

1. The total candidates fighting in today's round of Bihar elections is 1,314, including 1,192 males, and 122 females. Meanwhile, among the total eligible voter list of 3,75,13,302 individuals, 1,98,35,325 are male voters, and 1,98,35,325 female voters.
2. The Mahagathbandhan (Opposition Grand Alliance) is relying on voters swaying the elections. in the favour of  Chief Ministerial candidate, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav, who promised jobs-for-every-home. The RJD, that became the single largest party in 2020, launched an aggressive campaign led by Yadav, aiming to win over youth voting demographic.
3. Election strategist Prashant Kishor's entry into the political arena via  Jan Suraaj Party has opened another dimension to Bihar Election 2025, while raising queries over potential division of the non-BJP vote. Earlier, Kishor said his party will either get fewer than 10 or more than 150 seats.
4. In 2025, the majority of issues raised and attempted to win elections over revolves around education and healthcare, unemployment, migration, and corruption. The focus on employment was sharpened by Tejashwi Yadav's promise of one government job for every household in the state, which translates to a whooping 1.3 crore jobs.
5. The NDA, which has ruled the state for the better part of 20 years, contends that the state does not have pockets deep enough to support such a scheme. The ruling alliance has promised 1 crore jobs and hopes to empower women and create 1 crore women lakhpatis.
6. On the other hand, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which has governed the state for the majority of the last 20 years has promised 1 crore jobs, while aiming to create 1 crore women lakhpatis.
7. The BJP ran its high-powered campaign led by PM Modi, and several key cabinet and state ministers, however, the speculation over its CM candidate stole considerable limelight.
8. Ahead of the Bihar Elections phase 1, the Nitish Kuma,74, a six-time Chief Minister, will be dropped this time, with his JD(U) now playing second fiddle to the BJP. It took Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda to provide much-needed clarity on this.
9. Meanwhile, the Congress which started on strong-footing with foot march of Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav seemed to have lost its enthusiasm with Gandhi missing in action for over two months.
10. The candidates contesting in polls today are mostly spread across Central Bihar. In 2020, the Grand Alliance had secured a significant share in this region, claiming wins over 63 of the 121 seats. The BJP and Nitish Kumar's JDU had managed 55 seats in collaboration.