In the first phase of voting held on Thursday (6 November 2025) in Bihar, voters broke all previous records. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar called it a historic voting. The Election Commission said on Friday (7 November 2025) that no irregularities were found anywhere during the first phase of voting. It said, “After the investigation conducted in the first phase of elections, no irregularities were found at any polling station. During this period, no recommendation has been made by anyone for re-voting.”

This time less EVMs were changed in the elections

Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Kumar Gunjiyal said that in this election less number of EVMs have been changed as compared to last time. He told that this time 1.21 percent ballot units were changed, whereas in the 2020 elections this number was 1.87 percent. Similarly, this time 1.34 percent change was made in control units, whereas in 2020 this figure was 1.77 percent.

“After scrutiny, no discrepancy/malpractice was found at any of the Polling Station and no re-poll was recommended in Phase-I of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections,” says Election Commission of India after phase one of voting in Bihar elections. pic.twitter.com/7zXk6v5RI5

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2025

More than 45 thousand polling stations in the first phase

According to the information given by the Election Commission, a total of 1,314 candidates were in the fray in the first phase, of which 1,192 were male and 122 female candidates. There were about 8,609 polling stations in urban areas and 36,733 polling stations in rural areas. The number of polling stations run entirely by women was 926. 165 ballot units, 169 control units and 480 VVPATs were changed during voting.

Live telecasting took place from all polling stations.

Both NDA and Grand Alliance are interpreting this increased voting in their own favor. According to the Election Commission, live telecasting took place from all the polling stations and all the complaints received during this period were resolved. The Election Commission received a total of 143 complaints, which were resolved at the same time. More than 4 lakh polling personnel were put on duty for the first phase of elections.

Also read: 70-70 months imprisonment to two more accused in Pakistan linked Navy espionage case, big decision of NIA court

After the first phase of voting in Bihar, now the campaigning of political parties for the second phase is at its peak. Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Bhagalpur on Friday (November 7, 2025). The Congress leader targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Election Commission of India, accusing them of vote theft.

He said, ‘Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have been stealing votes for many years. Earlier we did not have evidence of vote theft, so we did not say anything, but now we have all the black and white evidence with data. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Election Commission of India (ECI) together had stolen the assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra as well as the Lok Sabha elections, now their eyes are on Bihar, but the people of Bihar, Gen-Z of Bihar will not allow this election to be stolen.

Taunt on Modi by taking name of Ambani-Adani

Rahul Gandhi said, ‘Why does Modi steal votes? This is done so that the entire share of the country can be given to Adani and Ambani. Modi gave land to Adani-Ambani cheaply. Modi says that we have made data so cheap that now you all are making reels. So I want to ask, do you get money from reels? This is all Ambani’s share in the reel, money goes to him from this.

⦁ Your land is given to Adani-Ambani
⦁ The airport here was closed to eliminate the weavers.
⦁ Port, airport, solar panels all handed over to Adani

Narendra Modi did this because people like Adani-Ambani give money to Modi ji.

Media is the face of Narendra Modi… pic.twitter.com/5ALOCiLnZ9

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 7, 2025

He said, ‘Reel is a new age drug, due to which your attention is being diverted. Through this, Modi wants that you should not get employment, education and you should not be able to ask questions on issues like unemployment, education, hospital etc. Rather, the truth is that when you watch a reel, you do not get any benefit from it. By watching your reel, money goes into Ambani’s pocket. The bank does not give you loan, but gives as much loan to Adani Ambani as he wants. Modi has reduced the people of Bihar to mere labourers.

Grand alliance government will be the voice of Bihar: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi said, ‘The Grand Alliance government in Bihar will not be the government of any one caste or religion, it will be the government of every citizen. The whole of Bihar will have a voice in the grand alliance government. Every class including Dalit, Mahadalit, backward, extremely backward, minority, poor general caste, farmers, labourers, youth will have voice in this government.

Also read: Bihar Assembly Elections: ‘From vote theft to land loot, everything is at the behest of Modi-Shah’, Rahul Gandhi’s attack on BJP.

In the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections (2025), voting was held on 121 seats on Thursday (November 06, 2025). A total of 1314 candidates were in the electoral fray. Record breaking voting took place in the first phase. Voting was boycotted at some places and the convoy of Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha was attacked in Lakhisarai. Read the big things related to the first phase of Bihar elections.

After the end of the first phase of voting, a press conference was held by the Election Commission on Thursday evening. Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Gunjyal said, “The first phase of voting for Bihar Assembly elections has been successfully completed. The participation of women voters has been very good. 165 ballot units, 169 control units and 480 VVPATs were changed during the voting.

This time voting records were broken in Bihar

According to the Election Commission, there was 62.57 percent voting in the 2000 assembly elections. Whereas in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998, there was 64.6 percent voting in Bihar. This time all records of voting were broken with 64.66 percent.

1415 people detained

Information about boycott of voting came to light at some other booths including polling booth number 56 of Buxar’s Brahmapur assembly constituency, 165, 166 of Fatuha and polling booth number 1, 2 and 5 in Suryagarha of Lakhisarai. ADG Headquarters Kundan Krishnan said that 1415 people were detained during the elections. On the other hand, the Election Commission received a total of 143 complaints which were resolved in time.

Voting took place in these 18 districts of Bihar

• Madhepura
• Sarhasa
• Darbhanga
• Muzaffarpur
• Gopalganj
• siwan
• saran
• Vaishali
• Samastipur
• Begusarai
• Khagaria
• Munger
• Lakhisarai
• Sheikhpura
• Nalanda
• Patna
• Bhojpur
• buxar

Fate of 16 ministers at stake in the first phase

In the first phase, apart from Samrat Chaudhary, the fate of Vijay Kumar Sinha as well as 16 ministers is also at stake. These include 11 ministers from BJP and five from JDU. In the first phase, there were a total of three crore 75 lakh 13 thousand 302 voters who had to vote. These include one crore 98 lakh 35 thousand 325 men, one crore 76 lakh 77 thousand 219 women and 758 third gender voters. A total of 45,341 booths were made for voting.

Also read- Watch: ‘Tiwari ho yaar…’, why did RJD MLA Bhai Virendra harass the policeman at the polling booth?

Vijay Sinha’s convoy attacked in Lakhisarai

Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha is a candidate from Lakhisarai seat. On Thursday, when he was in his area, his convoy was attacked. His car was surrounded and slogans of ‘Murdabad’ were raised along with slippers. People stopped him from moving forward. Vijay Kumar Sinha was in Khoriyari village of his constituency. An altercation took place between him and RJD MLC Ajay Singh in Lakhisarai itself.

Which leader said what on the first phase of elections?

Samrat Chaudhary: “I would like to thank the administration of Bihar, the people of Bihar and the Election Commission for the peaceful voting. The way the common voters of Bihar are coming out and voting, it is clearly visible that there has been 4-5% more voting in this election than the last election. The report that has come from our representatives after the first phase, out of 121 seats, NDA is winning around 100 seats and this is going to break the results of 2010.”

Vijay Kumar Sinha: “People have faith in the double engine government. NDA government will be formed again. Lakhisarai was made a hot seat. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav had said that take it in writing that Vijay Sinha will not win from here. Some people had made it a reputation to which the public has responded.”

Chirag Paswan: “…the way the trends are coming, one thing is clear in which there is not even an iota of doubt that after the results on 14th, NDA government is going to be formed in Bihar once again.”

Tej Pratap Yadav: “…In a democracy, the public is the master. The love and blessings of parents have their place… We will support whoever does good work. We have full faith…”

Mukesh Sahni: “There is a wave of change in Bihar. Bumper voting is taking place. I am hopeful that there will be change in Bihar. A grand alliance government will be formed.”

Akhilesh Prasad Singh: “The grand alliance is going to form the government with two-thirds majority. I had already said that Bihar is going to give shocking results and the kind of news coming today makes it clear that there is a change in power…”

Tejashwi Yadav: “A new government is going to be formed on November 14.”

Lalu Yadav (ex post): “The roti should be kept turning from the pan, otherwise it will burn.”

Upendra Kushwaha: “…From the news that is being received from Bihar, it is clear that NDA is going to have a huge victory this time in entire Bihar.”

Prashant Kishore: “The highest turnout in the last 30 years is an indication that change is coming in Bihar. A new system is going to be established on November 14…”

Khesari Lal Yadav: “I am happy that there was such a huge turnout. People are voting for the future of their children. May God provide better education and employment to the coming generation.”

Also read- Election 2025: Prashant Kishore’s big statement on bumper voting in Bihar, ‘A new system is going to come’

Maddan was completed on 121 seats for the first phase of Bihar assembly elections. This time people took part in voting in large numbers. According to the Election Commission, a record 64.46 percent people voted till 6 pm. Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Gunjyal said that the first phase of voting was successfully completed. He told that complaints have also been received from many places, which were resolved at the same time.

All complaints resolved promptly

Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar said, “The participation of women voters in the first phase of elections has been very good. 165 ballot units, 169 control units and 480 VVPATs were changed during the polling. By the end of polling, 143 complaints were received. All were resolved on time. Moreover, all the complaints received directly over the phone were resolved on time.”

‘1.21 percent ballot units had to be changed’

He said, “Boycott was also reported from polling station number 56 in Brahmapur assembly constituency, polling station number 165 and 166 in Fatuha assembly constituency, polling station number 1, 2 and 5 in Suryagarh near Lakhisarai. No untoward incident was reported in the first phase of voting held today. The polling was conducted peacefully and smoothly. This time we had to change only 1.21 percent ballot units in the first phase, whereas in 2020 “Only 1.87 percent EVMs were changed in the 2018 assembly elections.”

CEC Gyanesh Kumar congratulated the voters

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar congratulated the voters of Bihar for registering a historic voting percentage in the first phase of assembly elections since 1951. He thanked the voters for voting with great enthusiasm and enthusiasm, expressing their full faith in the Election Commission of India. He also thanked the entire election machinery for working with transparency and dedication.

Reports of sporadic violence surfaced

Of the 243 assembly seats in Bihar, 121 were voted in the first phase, while the remaining 122 will be voted in the second phase on November 11. The results of the elections will be declared on 14 November. Sporadic violence was also reported during the voting, including an attack on the convoy of Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha in Lakhisarai and an alleged attack on a Communist Party of India vehicle in Chapra.

The fate of these veterans is to be decided

RJD accused the administration of deliberately cutting power at the strong booths of the Grand Alliance with the intention of slowing down the voting. Candidates in the first phase include Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, BJP candidates Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha (both current deputy chief ministers), Bihar JDU president Umesh Kushwaha and RJD’s Bhola Yadav. Bhola Yadav is a close associate of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Also read: ‘Rahul Gandhi should feel ashamed for asking caste and religion of army personnel’, Amit Shah said in Bihar

Voting for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections (2025) is today (Thursday). Voting is on 121 seats in 18 districts. Meanwhile, a video has surfaced from Patna which has been shared by RJD spokesperson and Lalu Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya on Instagram. It is alleged that an attempt has been made to stop RJD supporters from voting. However, ABP News does not confirm this.

Rohini Acharya has written on

RJD asked the Election Commission to take cognizance

RJD spokesperson Priyanka Bharti shared the video and wrote, “Voters are being stopped from voting at Naseerganj Ghat in Danapur! Voters allege that the police is not allowing the boat to go to the booth. Will K.C.U.A. take cognizance of this matter and show its impartiality?” It has been tagged to the Election Commission and written that it should be investigated.

Voters are being stopped from voting at Naseerganj Ghat in Danapur! Voters allege that the police are not allowing the boat to go to the booth.

Of. Chu. Come. Will it show its impartiality by taking cognizance of this matter?@ECISVEEP check it out pic.twitter.com/kb6lqoQGPY

— Priyanka Bharti (@priyanka2bharti) November 6, 2025

People brought from other states for fake voting?

Rohini Acharya has shared another video. The video is said to be from Karnal (Haryana) station. Some people are sitting in the train with their BJP belts hanging. He says that he is going to vote in Bihar. BJP has got the ticket cut. Rohini has shared this video and has written, “BJP-NDA remains in power only by hijacking and rigging public opinion. People have been brought from other BJP-ruled states to conduct fake voting. This directly shows the frustration of BJP-NDA’s defeat.”

Also read- PHOTOS: Lalu family cast their vote, Rajshree Yadav was also seen, Tejashwi said – vote for employment

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (5 November 2025) accused the Election Commission and BJP of conspiring to convert Congress’s massive victory in Haryana into defeat. A day before the first phase of voting in Bihar assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference and repeated the allegation of ‘vote theft’ on BJP. He said that his team has 100 percent evidence that about 25 lakh voters in Haryana are either fake or the voter list has been tampered.

‘Conspiracy to destroy the constitutional structure’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed apprehension that the government in Haryana was stolen and Bihar could be next. He claimed that the Election Commission is working in collusion with the BJP government at the Center and both have collaborated in destroying the constitutional structure of the country. He said, ‘We have ‘H-files’, in which it has been told how the information of an entire state was stolen. We suspect that this is not happening in any one constituency, but at the state level and national level.

What allegations did Rahul Gandhi make?

1. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared details of unaccounted votes and claimed that 25 lakh votes were stolen in the Haryana Assembly elections under five categories – duplicate voters, illegal addresses, bulk voters and other conspiracies. He claimed that for the first time in the history of Haryana, postal votes were different from actual votes.

2. The Congress MP said, ‘BJP leader Dalchand is a sarpanch in UP. Along with UP, they also vote in Haryana. We caught Dalchand ji’s game because he changed his father’s name at one place, but his son did not change his name. Both of them voted in UP and Haryana. Similarly, Prahlad, a sarpanch from Mathura in UP and BJP leader, also voted in Haryana. This is just an example, there are thousands of such names. Similarly, in Kerala, BJP leader Gopal Krishnan says that if needed, we will bring people from Jammu and Kashmir to win the elections.

3. Leader of Opposition alleged that in the Haryana Assembly elections, votes were cast 22 times under different names at 10 booths in the name of a female model from Brazil. He said, ‘Who is this woman?’ What is his name? Where did it come from? She voted 22 times at 10 different booths in Haryana and has many names, like Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, Vimala, while the truth is that she is a Brazilian model.

4. Rahul claimed that the Election Commission has software to detect duplicate voter entries, but it has failed to use it effectively. He said, ‘We asked the Election Commission to run the software and identify voters with similar names and addresses, but they refused. The reason is clear that they are helping BJP.

5. The Congress MP also claimed that thousands of people associated with BJP voted in both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. He said, ‘The Election Commission does not want free and fair elections. This is a clear proof of BJP’s misdeeds. Thousands of BJP workers are voting in both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

6. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha also rejected the Election Commission’s clarification on the address having zero house number in voter ID cards. He said, the Election Commission claims that people with house number zero are homeless. However, when we investigated at the ground level, we found that many of these people were actually living in their homes. This is not a mistake, nor is it about homeless citizens. The Chief Election Commissioner is lying to the people of India.

7. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also played a video of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in which he had said two days before the counting of votes that BJP will win and we have a system. He said, ‘After the elections in Mahadevpura and Aland, we suspected that this is not happening just in one constituency, but at the state and national level.’

8. During the press conference, the Congress leader also said that names of more than 3.5 lakh voters have been removed from the voter list. He also shared a video of Saddam Hussain, a resident of Malikpur village in Haryana, in which he told that his and his wife’s names have been removed from the voter list.

9. He said, ‘It is the job of the Election Commission to improve the voter list, but they are not doing it. The Election Commission, along with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, is attacking India’s democracy.

10. Rahul Gandhi also reportedly invited some voters from Bihar who claimed that their names had been removed from the voter list. He claimed that when he asked to re-enrol, he was refused.

Amidst the ongoing election activity in Bihar, the Election Commission will start the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in 12 states of the country from Tuesday (4 November 2025). The work of verification of Voter ID will start in many states including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. This time, like Bihar, only Aadhar card is not valid in the SIR process. Under this, the work of distributing enumeration forms from door to door of voters will be started and these forms will be submitted on December 4, 2025.

Election Commission will visit Bengal

A team of the Election Commission may visit West Bengal from 5 to 8 November to review the SIR. According to the report of news agency PTI, the team led by Election Commission Principal Secretary SB Joshi and Deputy Secretary Abhinav Aggarwal can inspect Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal. Will assess how the BLO and Returning Officer RO are performing their duties.

During the second phase, SIR is to be conducted in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Assembly elections are going to be held in four of these states, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal next year. During this period, the concerned BLO will visit people’s homes three times. The final publication of the voter list will be done next February 2025.

These 13 documents are necessary for SIR

For SIR, documents like birth certificate, 10th or any other examination certificate, passport, government land and house papers, caste certificate, domicile certificate, government job identity card or pension payment order, copy of family register, Commission’s guidelines related to Aadhar card, NRC entry, any identity card issued before July 1, 1987, land or house allotment certificate issued by the government will be valid. There are 51 crore voters in the 12 states and union territories where SIRs are to be held.

Draft voter list will be released on December 9

The Election Commission will release the draft voter list on 9 December and the final voter list will be published on 7 February 2025. Earlier SIR was done in 2002-04. The Commission believes that SIR will ensure that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible voter’s name remains in the voter list. The primary objective of SIR is to delist illegal foreign immigrants by checking their place of birth.

MK Stalin on SIR: Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Special Intensive Revision process.

The move comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI) last week issued orders for the next phase of SIR of voter lists in 12 states and union territories, which will cover a total of 51 crore voters.

Nomination work will start from November 4

The nomination process for this phase will begin from November 4 and the final voter list will be published on February 7, 2026, with January 1, 2026, as the base date. Assembly elections are to be held in the five states/union territories next year in April-May 2026. West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are included in the list of 12 states where the SIR process will run in the next three months. However, Assam, which is one of the election states, is not included in this list.

CM M.K. Stalin accused ECI of conspiracy

On Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin accused the Election Commission (ECI) of a conspiracy and said the SIR was a malicious attempt aimed at removing opposition voters.

Stalin said, “To stop this undemocratic step, we called an all-party meeting and passed a resolution condemning the SIR. The complete revision of the voter list by the Election Commission a few months before the elections is a deliberate strategy to remove legitimate voters.”

Big allegation made giving example of Bihar

CM Stalin alleged that a similar process was adopted in Bihar also, where lakhs of genuine voters were removed from the list. He said that the first opposition to this controversial process started from Tamil Nadu, after which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and opposition leaders of Bihar also opposed it. Stalin said, “Even after the legal case was registered, the Election Commission did not give any satisfactory answer”.

AIADMK and BJP also targeted

Stalin met AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. He also made a scathing attack on Palaniswami and said that he was playing a double game and was afraid of the Election Commission because of his links with BJP. He further said that migrant laborers from Bihar have got respect and employment in Tamil Nadu, but the Prime Minister is “doing political drama for electoral gains in Bihar.”

India Sir: A special intensive verification campaign is being conducted by the Election Commission of India in 12 states to keep the voter lists accurate, transparent and updated. But have you ever wondered under which constitutional provisions this process is done? Let us know the answer to this question and also which form is used for new voter enrollment.

Legal framework behind special intensive review

This process is conducted under Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1950. These provisions give full powers to the Election Commission to maintain purity and accuracy in voter lists.

Article 324 of the Constitution

Article 324 empowers the Election Commission of the country to supervise, direct and control the entire process of elections to the Parliament, State Assemblies and the posts of President and Vice President. It also includes preparation, maintenance and revision of voter lists. This ensures that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner. Along with this, the Election Commission has been given the final supervisory power to give orders like special amendments if needed.

Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1950

Under this, the Election Commission has full authority to prepare and modify the voter list for every constituency. This allows the Commission to order specific amendments to the electoral roll at any time for reasons it deems appropriate. This becomes all the more important when there is a need for comprehensive verification and upgradation of the voter database.

What is the purpose of special intensive revision?

Its objective is to include every eligible citizen above 18 years of age in the voter list. Along with this, duplicate, dead or transferred voters are removed. For this, booth level officers do door-to-door verification and collect information from homes to update the records.

Which form for new voter enrollment

Form 6 is used for those who want to register as a new voter. Form 6 can be submitted through the official Election Commission portal. Apart from this, during special intensive verification, booth level officers also collect enumeration forms from citizens. This helps to verify existing voter information and add new names.

Also read: What is the difference between SSR and SIR, know what are the objectives of both

Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Preparations of both the Election Commission and political parties are in full swing for the assembly elections in Bihar. Let us tell you that voting will be conducted in two phases on November 6 and November 11. With this the results will be declared on 14th November. In the meantime, let us know what is Postal Ballot Paper and also by whom it is used.

What is Postal Ballot Paper?

Actually, this is a special method of voting which allows some categories of voters to cast their vote through post instead of going to the polling station. This process is for those persons who cannot be physically present on the day of voting due to service, age, health or special circumstances. Once these voters receive their ballot paper by post, they can register their vote and return it to the election officials within the stipulated time limit. The Election Commission of India monitors this entire process. At the same time, during the official counting process, every postal ballot is carefully monitored, verified and counted along with the remaining votes.

Who can vote through postal ballot?

Not every voter is eligible to use the postal ballot facility. The Election Commission has given this facility to some special categories of voters. Service voters are also included in this. These include members of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces, Indian State Police from outside their home constituency and government officials posted abroad. For this, if their life partner lives with them then they are also eligible to vote. These voters can also use the electronically transmitted postal ballot system.

Apart from these, facilities have also been provided to the personnel posted on election duty. This includes presiding officers, polling officers and security personnel. Now, since people are busy with electoral responsibilities on the voting day, postal ballot ensures that they can exercise their democratic right without any hindrance.

Along with this, senior citizens and disabled people also have the right to use the postal ballot facility. The Election Commission has also provided the facility to use postal ballot for senior citizens of 80 years of age or above and disabled people who face difficulty in going to polling stations. Such voters will have to submit Form 12D and apply in advance to the Returning Officer. After verification, postal ballot is sent to them. By using this facility they can vote comfortably sitting at home.

voters in preventive custody

Voters who have been kept in preventive custody also have the right to vote through postal ballot. However, it does not include people serving jail sentences. Along with this, in recent years the Election Commission has also provided the facility of post ballot to the recognized media personnel engaged in election coverage on the day of voting.

Also read: How accurate voter list is prepared by SIR, know what is the whole process