New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Monday announced a two-phase schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections, formally setting the stage for a high-stakes political battle in one of the most important state elections in recent times, whose ramifications will make a strong impact on the national politics.
Polling will take place on 6 November and 11 November, covering 121 and 122 constituencies respectively. Counting of votes will be held on 14 November , and the entire process will be completed by 16 November, making it one of the shortest election schedules in the state’s recent history.
As per the data shared by ECI, Bihar has 7.43 crore registered voters, including 3.92 crore men, 3.50 crore women, and 1,725 transgender voters. There are 14.01 lakh first-time voters and 1.63 crore voters in the 20–29 age group.
Voting will take place across 90,712 polling stations, of which 76,801 are rural and 13,911 urban, with 100% webcasting planned. Special categories include 1,044 women-managed, 292 PwD-managed, and 1,350 model booths.
Around 8.5 lakh officials will be deployed, including 4.53 lakh polling personnel and 2.5 lakh police personnel, supported by micro-observers and sector officers. Logistical arrangements will include horse-mounted patrols in diara regions and boats to access nearly 200 riverine polling stations.
Soon after the poll schedule was announced, the first round of opinion polls indicated a clear NDA wave, with respondents citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, infrastructure development, and welfare outreach as key factors influencing their preference. While such early surveys are often fluid, the initial trends have boosted the NDA’s confidence heading into the campaign.
Strategically, the Nitish Kumar–led NDA is relying on three pillars. First is the personal popularity of Prime Minister Modi, who remains the alliance’s principal vote-puller, overshadowing state leaders. Second is the infrastructure push led largely by central agencies—highways, bridges, airports, hospitals, railway upgrades, and rural electrification—that the NDA projects as proof of tangible development. Third is a set of sops and appointments announced by the Nitish Kumar government in recent months, dubbed as “rewadi” or freebies by the opposition , including enhanced welfare payouts, youth stipend and internship schemes, pension hikes, financial support for women, and a series of appointments in commissions and boards—moves clearly aimed at shoring up support across key constituencies.
However, despite this momentum, anti-incumbency against Nitish Kumar remains a significant factor.
After nearly two decades in power, fatigue is evident across sections of the electorate, including among NDA supporters.
BJP leaders privately admit this challenge, and there is growing acceptance within the alliance that Kumar is unlikely to be sworn in as chief minister again, even if the NDA wins—a sign of shifting internal power equations.
Union home minister Amit Shah has assumed direct charge of the BJP’s campaign, overseeing everything from candidate selection to booth-level mobilisation.
BJP strategists are paying close attention to Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj movement, which they believe is making inroads into the forward caste vote bank. A senior Union minister told this newspaper that Kishor is “quietly but effectively” appealing to sections disillusioned with what they see as the BJP’s “excessive pro-backward appeasement politics.”
On the opposition side, the RJD–Congress-led Grand Alliance (GA) is approaching the polls with growing confidence. Tejashwi Yadav continues to command strong loyalty among Yadav voters, while broader anti-incumbency against Nitish Kumar has added momentum to their campaign. Rahul Gandhi’s recent yatra through Bihar has drawn large crowds, energising Congress cadres and giving the alliance a visibility boost ahead of the campaign’s peak.
The recently done Special Intensive Revision exercise by the ECI to “purify” the electoral rolls is being described as one of the issue that will play a key role in way the GA supporters and fence sitters vote.
The 2025 Bihar assembly elections are shaping up as a contest between the NDA’s developmental pitch and Modi’s appeal on one side, and deep-rooted anti-incumbency, caste recalibrations, and a resurgent opposition on the other.
While intital surveys indicate a pro NDA wave, this election is one of the toughest one that the ruling NDA is facing in the last two decades.
