Bihar Elections 2025: Security heightened in state as vote counting begins

Bihar Elections 2025 Vote Counting: Counting of votes across 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar began at 8 am today, with security heightened at various counting centres. Security personnel arrived for their election duty at various locations, including Patna, Gaya, and several others.

The elections set several records, and the maximum polling in both phases was the greatest record ever. The state of Bihar during the second phase of polling witnessed a record 68.76 per cent of the voters showing up, which is the highest in the entire history of the state. The total percentage of polling for both phases was 66.91 per cent.

Bihar Election 2025 recorded highest voter turnout

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As per the Election Commission, this is the highest voter turnout in the state since 1951. In the first phase, the turnout was 65.06 per cent. The main election battle in Bihar is between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan.

The parties comprising the NDA are the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan, which is headed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, involves the Congress party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) under the leadership of Dipankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). Furthermore, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has also asserted stakes on all 243 seats in the state.

On Thursday, a poster honoring Ranjit Sinha, a former minister of Bihar, was put up outside the Janata Dal (United) office in Patna and it gave the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the title of a 'Tiger who still has the power (Tiger Zinda hai)', considering the latter as the "keeper" of all the communities, even those on the outskirts of society (as reported by ANI).

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, on the other hand, claimed that his party-backed Mahagathbandhan coalition is going to be the next government in Bihar with a "clear majority," thus he was not taking the exit polls that have favoured the NDA's victory into account.