"First vote, then refreshments...", PM Modi appeals to voters in the Bihar Election

Amid the first phase of voting in the Bihar Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday appealed to the people of Bihar to enthusiastically exercise their franchise in this festival of democracy.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi congratulated young voters who were casting their votes for the first time and urged them to prioritize voting over all other matters, saying, "First vote, then refreshment."

Prime Minister Modi posted on X, "Today is the first phase of the festival of democracy in Bihar. I appeal to all voters in this phase of the Assembly elections to vote with full enthusiasm. On this occasion, my special congratulations to all my young friends in the state who are voting for the first time. Remember - first vote, then refreshment."

Voting for the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections began at 7 am today in 121 constituencies across 18 districts, representing 243 seats in the state, with approximately 37.5 million voters exercising their franchise.

Voting will end at 6 pm, and due to security reasons, the voting time has been reduced to 5 pm in some constituencies.

The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JDU's Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary.

Bahubal leaders Anant Singh and Tej Pratap Yadav are also contesting in the first phase. According to the Election Commission, there are 10.72 lakh 'new voters' and 7.78 lakh voters are in the 18-19 year age group. According to the Election Commission, the total population of these constituencies is 6.60 crore.