Bihar elections Phase 1 voting LIVE: Polling underway for 121 seats; over 3.75 crore voters to decide fate of big leaders, small parties

The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections kicked off early Thursday (November 6, 2025) with over 3.75 crore voters set to cast their ballots in 121 of the State’s 243 constituencies. The voting began at 7 a.m. will continue till 5 p.m. across 45,341 polling stations, an overwhelming majority of which fall in rural areas (36,733). This phase is particularly significant for the Mahagatbandhan, which had secured 63 of these seats in the 2020 elections. The BJP and Janata Dal (United) together had won 55.

This phase is crucial for the smaller parties in both coalitions. Ten of the 20 seats CPI(ML) is contesting fall under this phase, out of which they hold six seats. In NDA, ten of the 29 seats that the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) contested are in the first phase. NDA holds only one of these ten seats. The LJP(RV)’s seat share had sparked discontent among NDA allies, particularly the JD(U), who argued that the party’s allocation was disproportionate given its lack of representation in the Assembly.

Several top leaders are in fray in this phase, including the Opposition’s Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and over a dozen BJP and JD(U) Ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. Young folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP-Aliganj), and Bhojpuri superstars Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD-Chhapra) and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party – Kargahar) are contesting in the first phase.
source:thehindu.com