Bihar polls: Campaigning for first phase ends, voting on Nov 6

The campaigning for the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections will conclude at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The voting for this phase will be held on November 6 in 121 Assembly constituencies across 18 districts.

On the last day of canvassing, all parties were holding rallies, roadshows and public meetings to woo voters.

Now, candidates have switched to door-to-door outreach to seek direct support.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has finalised preparations for the first phase. Strict security arrangements have been made at all polling booths.

The international border with Nepal has also been completely sealed to prevent any external interference.

Security forces have been put on high alert in the border districts, and every movement is being closely monitored.

A total of 1,314 candidates are in the fray in phase one -- 1,192 men and 122 women.

Voting will take place for 102 general seats and 19 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

According to the ECI, a total of 3,75,13,302 voters will exercise their franchise in the first phase.

This includes 1,98,35,325 men, 1,76,77,219 women and 758 third-gender voters.

45,341 polling stations have been set up -- 45,324 main and 17 auxiliary booths. Of these, 8,608 booths are located in urban areas and 36,733 in rural areas.

The randomisation and allocation of EVMs and VVPATs have been completed. The list of machines for each polling station has been shared with all candidates and their agents.

The ECI has implemented a three-tier security system for fair and peaceful polling.

Armed Forces will be deployed at all booths. As many as 1,049 checkpoints have been set up across the state, where security checks are underway.

So far, 1,005 people have been arrested in various cases.

The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections is considered politically crucial, as it covers key districts from Patna division, Magadh, Tirhut, and Shahabad -- regions that often have a decisive impact on the outcome.

The second phase of voting will be held on November 11, and the results will be announced on November 14.