Bihar Election Date 2025 Highlights: Bihar gets battle ready – voting on Nov 6 and 11; Results on Nov 14

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will continue its two-day review of Bihar’s election preparedness on Sunday. On the second day, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and his team will meet the enforcement agencies in Patna to curb misuse of money and muscle power.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a three-hour review meet at the party office to discuss the 60 “sitting seats” that the party has in the state, along with the remaining seats and the lost seats on which the BJP contested.

According to an EC statement, most political parties were in favour of the polls being held “immediately after Chhath”, the most popular festival of Bihar which falls later this month, and the process be completed “in as few phases as possible”. According to the statement, the political parties “thanked” the EC for “successful completion” of “historic” Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, which, incidentally, has been the cause of a major political controversy ahead of assembly polls.

– Via PTI

Rahul Gandhi does not have any credibility, but the Election Commission does, as even the Supreme Court has acknowledged its efforts to conduct impartial polls in various of its judgements, the BJP said on Saturday, as it slammed the Congress for alleging irregularities in the final voter list for poll-bound Bihar. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that the Congress is indulging in such blame games because both its leader, Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav know that their alliance is set to suffer defeat in the coming Assembly elections in Bihar.

– Via PTI

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Abhay Kushwaha on Saturday placed a demand before Chief Election Commission (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging that the upcoming assembly elections be held in two phases. He also appealed to the people whose names have been removed from the voter list to file a complaint.

“We have brought all the points in front of the Election Commission clearly. I have also provided them with suggestions that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had in written form. We have demanded that the elections be held in two phases. We have told them to give us a clear list of the 3,66,000 names that were removed (from the voter list), and I appeal to those whose names have been removed to file a complaint,” Kushwaha told ANI.

– via ANI

On verifying the identity of women voters in veils during polling in Bihar, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha says, “Law should be the same for ‘ghoonghat’ and ‘burqa’.”

Union Minister and BJP’s Bihar poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan chairs the state BJP Election Committee meeting in Patna.

Congress MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan says, “Whenever Rahul Gandhi or anyone else questioned the Election Commission with evidence, the response always came from the BJP…”

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Saturday said that every party has its own thinking and demands.

“The Election Commission is an independent body. Whatever decision it takes, everyone will have to accept it… ‘Appu’ and ‘Pappu’ (Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi) are two leaders. They keep making one the Chief Minister and the other the Prime Minister. They are sitting on constitutional posts but do not discharge their responsibilities…The public has decided that the leader will be the one who has developed the state with a sense of service, who has removed the word ‘Bihari’ from being an insult and made it a matter of pride,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the opposition is “baffled” as PM Modi is the face of NDA and BJP in the nation.

“Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is the face of Bihar…There is a double-engine government in Bihar…” he added.

Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party President Pashupati Kumar Paras said on Saturday that if the majority goes in favor of the INDI Alliance in the upcoming Bihar elections, then “certainly a government will be formed in Bihar under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav”.

CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya talks about issues affecting Bihar Assembly Polls.

He said there are many issues in Bihar. “When the government itself conducted a survey, it was found that extreme poverty exists in the state, 94 lakh families are somehow surviving on an income of less than Rs 6,000 monthly, which essentially means they are living on debt. Instead of taking responsibility for education, the government is stepping back, leading to the privatisation of education and healthcare in Bihar on a large scale. Land acquisition is happening rampantly, farmers are being deprived of their land in the name of roads and other projects. But I believe that the essence of all these issues is that Bihar cannot move forward under the current government,” he said.

Former Bihar Minister Tej Pratap Yadav says, “No one is talking about important issues or unemployment. During elections, ‘gifts’ are distributed, like Rs 10,000 in women’s accounts as inducements. These are all election tactics. No one is listening to the youth.”

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes part in Makhana Mahotsav in Bihar.

He said that the Makhana Board will leave no stone unturned to increase production, reduce the cost of makhana, and research new seeds that yield higher yields.

“Mechanisation is needed to ensure easy extraction of makhana… This will ensure easy and safe extraction of makhana… The Makhana Board will provide various types of assistance to farmers…” he said while talking to the reporters.

Bihar Minister Sanjay Nishad said that across the country, all those who are weak, marginalized, and deprived of constitutional rights, “the people who were dispossessed by the British and the Mughals, belong to 578 castes that were classified as ‘criminal castes’ and denied their rights, including land rights. Among these, 90% were landowners, and 80% of them were Nishads. Today, they have social and political issues across the country. Economically too, they were disadvantaged…” he said.

A meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, held with Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal and representatives of all recognized political parties in Bihar today.

RJD MP Abhay Kushwaha, after meeting the Election Commission, says, “We asked the EC whether they informed voters about their names being removed prior to deletion; we have also suggested that elections be held in two phases.”

On meeting with Chief Election Commissioner, JD(U) Bihar president Umesh Singh Kushwaha says, “Our party has suggested that the elections should be held in a single phase. To allow voters arriving from outside during Chhath Parv to cast their votes, the elections should be scheduled immediately after Chhath Parv…”

Bihar Minister Prem Kumar said that the Election Commission is a constitutional body, and elections are going to be held soon.

“We are going there to assess the preparations for the elections…The Election Commission has carried out this work very transparently, and we thank them for it. Going forward, elections in Bihar will also be conducted transparently, and everyone will get their rightful representation,” he added.

The Chief Election Commissioner held a meeting with officials and leaders of political parties ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025.

JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said, “We put forward our point before the Election Commission. SIR has happened in Bihar, and Bihar will show the country the way SIR is done… We have urged that elections should be held in 1 phase in Bihar… Law and order in Bihar is in good condition… If elections can be held in one phase in Maharashtra, then why not in Bihar…”

BJP also said the polls should be conducted in one or two phases, and suggested that officials must identify women turning up at booths in burqa.

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar says, “A government which comes to power through ‘vote chori’ is a government which will grab land. After getting all airports and ports of our country, now Adani eyeing Bihar.”

PM Narendra Modi slammed the opposition and said the education system has changed in the past few years.

“Thousands of young people from Bihar have joined us through this program. This generation may not realise how devastated the education system in Bihar was two and a half decades ago. Schools were not open honestly, nor were recruitments conducted. Which parent doesn’t want their child to study and progress here?” the PM said.

“But out of compulsion, millions of children were forced to leave Bihar and go to Varanasi, Delhi, and Mumbai. This was the real beginning of the migration… Fortunately, the people of Bihar entrusted Nitish Kumar with the responsibility of government, and we are all witnesses to how the entire NDA team together brought the deteriorating system back on track…I am happy that Bihar has received a new Skill University at today’s Skill Convocation.,” he added.

On Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University in Bihar, PM Narendra Modi says, “…Karpoori Thakur wasn’t made ‘Jan Nayak’ by social media trolls. He was made ‘Jan Nayak’ by the people of Bihar, and they did so after observing his life. I would urge the people of Bihar to be vigilant. Nowadays, people are trying to steal even this title of ‘Jan Nayak’. Therefore, I urge the people of Bihar to be vigilant so that this honour bestowed upon Karpoori Thakur by the people is not stolen… the double engine government of NDA is continuously engaged in modernising the educational institutions of Bihar.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches initiatives worth over Rs 62,000 crore for youth, keeping Bihar in focus.

While unveiling the schemes, he said, “…it is guarantee of their bright future.”

Addressing the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh virtually, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “On this occasion, the Prime Minister is inaugurating, launching, and laying the foundation for 11 programs and schemes across the country and in Bihar for the skill development and capacity building of youth… All these initiatives will greatly benefit the youth of Bihar. I sincerely salute the Prime Minister for all these efforts.”

BJP State President Dilip Jaiswal said that his party first appreciated the Election Commission for publishing the voter list in a transparent and improved manner. “We also made some suggestions regarding the Bihar elections. We proposed that one or two days before the elections, paramilitary forces should be deployed and marched in backward and Dalit-dominated villages to instill confidence among voters that no pressure will be applied…”

Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal said the Election Commission has requested political parties to ensure that their polling agents surely collect Form 17C when voting ends in the evening.

“… Some political parties’ polling agents leave early, and then the blame game begins… We were also asked about when the elections should be held. We said that the elections should be held immediately when the 28-day announcement period ends, without any delay…” he added.

On Opposition criticising PM Modi and Nitish Kumar government’s announcements before Bihar elections, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP leader Nityanand Rai said that PM Modi-led government has given more than Rs 14 lakh crore for Bihar’s development.

“…leaders indulged in scams and providing benefits to their family members not concerned about people’s welfare,” he said.

On the meeting with the election commission, SP State Coordinator Advocate Surendra Ram said that several suggestions were provided by the parties.

“In the meeting with the Election Commission, many suggestions and reforms were discussed that parties had requested. The Bahujan Samaj Party also presented its suggestions. It was proposed that elections be conducted via ballot papers, CCTV cameras be installed at 100% of polling booths, and polling agents be properly appointed…Leaders should refrain from making announcements during elections, as it can influence voters…” he said.

ECI says the discussion with all 12 recognised political parties of Bihar has begun under the chairmanship of CEC Ghyanesh Kumar. In a post on X, the poll panel said, “Under the chairmanship of the Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, the discussion with all 12 recognized political parties of Bihar began with Election Commissioner Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi, Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer Shri Vinod Gunjyal, and senior officials of the Commission.”

The national parties in the meeting are: AAP, BSP, BJP, Congress, CPI(M), NPP

State parties in the meet are: CPI (ML), JD(U), LJP(Ramvilas), RJD, RLJP, RLSP