Final Bihar voting update: Total voter turnout 66.91%, 71.6% women and 68.2% men cast their votes

In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, voters created history. For the first time since India's independence, a record 66.91 percent cast their ballots. In the first phase, on November 6th, voter turnout was 65.08 percent.

On Tuesday, the second phase saw a 68.76 percent voter turnout. With this, voting concluded peacefully in all 243 assembly constituencies, despite sporadic incidents. Male voter turnout was 62.8% and female voter turnout was 71.6%.

Political analysts claim that the bumper turnout is due to the NDA government's provision of ₹10,000 to women in each family under the Chief Minister's Employment Scheme for women associated with the Jeevika group and 125 units of free electricity per month to approximately 20 million families.

There are other reasons as well. Over 1.80 lakh Jeevika Didi and women workers were deployed to identify veiled women during the voting process. After voting, the election agent present at each booth was given Form C, which contains all the voting-related information. Arrangements for live webcasting were ensured at all booths.

Three Major Reasons for Bumper Voting

While many reasons are being cited for the increased voter turnout, including the voter awareness campaign launched by the Election Commission of India, three are the main ones.

The first and main reason is the operation of over 13,000 trains during Diwali and Chhath for voters who were in various states, and the returnees stayed back to vote. The second includes the Special Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll, as well as the benefits and announcements made by political parties to voters.

NDA Government Again in Exit Polls

Exit poll projections following the second and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections show the NDA returning to power in the state with an absolute majority. According to exit polls from various agencies, the NDA could easily win 140-150 seats, surpassing the required majority of 122.

If the election results conform to exit poll predictions, the NDA's development slogan appears to overshadow the Grand Alliance's call for change. The election results clearly indicate that Nitish Kumar's rule will remain in power in Bihar, meaning that the path to power may once again elude RJD's young leader, Tejashwi Yadav.

At the same time, Prashant Kishore's campaign to create a third-pronged alternative political landscape in Bihar appears to be failing on the electoral pitch. His party, Jansuraj, appears unlikely to win even enough seats to salvage its reputation. Exit polls predict a win for the Jansuraj Party, ranging from zero to five seats.

After voting concluded in Bihar on Tuesday, TV news channels broadcast exit poll projections from various agencies, almost all of which predicted the NDA would retain power with a large majority.

According to the News 19 exit poll, the NDA is projected to win 140-150 of the state's 243 assembly seats. Meanwhile, the Grand Alliance is projected to win 85-95 seats.

Several news channels aired exit polls, but they attributed the results to post-election survey agencies.

According to the Chanakya Strategies Agency's exit poll broadcast on News 24, the NDA is poised to easily win power in Bihar. However, according to its data, the Grand Alliance is also expected to cross the 100 mark, winning 100-108 seats. Regardless of the scientific methodology employed by these exit poll agencies, all are predicting an NDA victory.

Foreign diplomats observed elections for the first time.

For the first time this year, 16 delegates from six countries, including South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, and Colombia, visited and observed the election process under the International Election Visitors Program (IEVP). The delegates praised the Bihar elections, calling them one of the most well-organized, transparent, efficient, and participatory elections internationally.