The initial phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections has shattered previous records, with an impressive 64.69% voter turnout reported across 121 constituencies. This historic participation rate marks a significant jump, outpacing the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by 9.3 percentage points and the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections by 8.8 percentage points. This surge represents the highest turnout observed in Bihar for any state or national election since 2010.
This electoral success comes despite a recent special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter rolls, which led to the removal of 3.07 million electors statewide. Within the 121 polling constituencies, 1.53 million voters were deleted, a reduction of 3.9%. However, this administrative action did not seem to dampen voter enthusiasm.
Nearly 24.3 million voters cast their ballots, a notable increase from the 21.55 million who participated in these constituencies during the 2024 general elections. This indicates that the electoral roll revision likely focused on inactive registrations, leaving the pool of active, engaged voters largely unaffected. When examining historical voting patterns, the current voter turnout growth rate is consistent with previous elections, despite a slower increase in the overall number of registered electors. Analysts suggest that many of the deleted names belonged to voters who had migrated or were registered multiple times, individuals who traditionally have lower participation rates. The high turnout in this first phase highlights the vibrant democratic spirit in Bihar, setting a high bar for subsequent phases of the elections.