Highest-Ever Voter Turnout of 67.14% Recorded in Second Phase of Bihar Elections

PTI, PATNA, NOV 11, 2025 :  Bihar on Tuesday recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 percent, provisionally, at the close of polling in the second and final phase of the high-stakes assembly elections, seen as a veritable referendum on the state's longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The polling percentage across 122 constituencies comprising 3.70 crore voters, which was higher than the "record" 65.09% turnout registered in the first phase on November 6, was likely to go up, as queues of voters were seen at many booths, officials said.

Kishanganj, the lone Muslim-majority district in the state, recorded the highest polling percentage so far at 76.26%, followed by adjoining Katihar (75.23%), Purnea (73.79%), Supaul (70.69%), and Araria (67.79%). Most of the districts are situated along the border with Nepal, many of them falling in the state's northeastern region of Kosi-Seemanchal, which is flood-prone and has a high percentage of the minority community.

Voting turnout has also been high in south Bihar districts like Jamui (67.81%), Gaya (67.50%), and Kaimur (67.22%). The lowest turnout (57.31%) was recorded in Nawada, the only district that did not touch the 60 percent mark until 5 pm.

Although Kumar, who is a member of the state legislative council, is not himself contesting the polls, the BJP-led NDA is banking on 'good governance' during the tenure of the JD(U) president to tackle the anti-incumbency factor.

The second phase, in which eight ministers of his cabinet are in the fray, involves high stakes for the ruling NDA, as also the opposition INDIA bloc, which pins its hopes on the incumbency factor, as well as the high concentration of Muslims in many of the poll-bound districts.

The second phase is of particular significance for the Congress, a spent force which is, nonetheless, the second-largest constituent of the INDIA bloc in Bihar. Of the 19 seats it had won in the 2020 assembly polls, 12 go to the polls in the current phase. Its sitting MLAs include state president Rajesh Kumar Ram (Kutumba) and Shakeel Ahmed Khan (Kadwa).

In the first phase, on November 6, a "record" 65.09% of 3.75 crore electors, across 121 constituencies, had cast their vote, which both rival groups claim to be to their advantage.