The Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the dates for the Bihar Assembly. Elections 2025 today at 4 PM during a press conference at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct will come into effect across the state. The entire election process is mandated to be completed by November 22, 2025. All political parties have urged the Election Commission to schedule. Voting after the Chhath festival, a significant cultural event in Bihar. Consequently, voting is likely to be conducted in two phases, a reduction from the three phases in 2020 and five phases in 2015. In 2020, voting occurred from October 20 to November 7, with results declared on November 10.
Significant Voter List Revision
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar recently held a press conference in Patna,. Highlighting the success of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar's voter list. He stated that SIR has been the largest initiative in voter list management. The final list, released on September 30, shows a 6% reduction in Bihar's voter count, now standing at 7. 41 crore. During the SIR, 69. 29 lakh names were deleted, while 21. 53 lakh new names were added. Voters with changes in their name, address, or age are expected to receive new voter cards within 15 days.
High Rate of Lost Deposits in 2020
In the 2020 Assembly elections, out of 3733 candidates who contested across 243 constituencies, a staggering 3205 candidates, or 85%, lost their security deposits, while only 285 candidates managed to save their deposits despite losing. The election saw 212 political parties fielding candidates, including 6 national and 4 regional parties. Also, 1299 independent candidates contested, with only one securing a victory.
The NDA has affirmed that the 2025 Assembly elections will be contested under the leadership and face of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Senior BJP leaders have also endorsed this. JDU's slogan is '2025 se 2030, Phir se Nitish' (From 2025 to 2030, Nitish again). Chirag Paswan's LJP(R) and Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM have also agreed to contest under Nitish's leadership. In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) lacks a clear CM face. While RJD projects Tejashwi Yadav as the CM candidate, supported by VIP and Maale, the Congress has not openly endorsed him. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders have stated that the CM face will be collectively decided by the alliance after winning the elections.
Political Alignments and Leadership New Entrants in the Electoral Arena
This election is expected to see over 200 political parties in the fray. Currently, 184 political parties are registered in Bihar. Several new parties, including Jan Suraaj (Prashant Kishor's initiative), Tej Pratap Yadav's Jan Shakti Janata Dal, Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, and Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (contesting 150 seats), are set to make their full-fledged electoral debut. IP Gupta, who formed the Indian Inquilab Party, has announced plans to field candidates across all 243 constituencies.
