Highest-ever voter turnout in Bihar Assembly election history: 64.66% in phase one

Bihar’s 2025 Assembly election recorded a historic 64.66% turnout in the first phase — the highest in the state’s history

PGurus Newsdesk

November 6, 2025

Bihar’s phase one election sees record voter turnout despite 47 lakh names deleted from rolls

High turnout may signal anti-incumbency, but trends not always linear

The first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly election witnessed a record-breaking voter turnout of 64.66%, the highest ever in the state’s electoral history. The turnout surpassed the previous high of 62.57% recorded in the 2000 Assembly polls, and even marginally exceeded the state’s 1998 Lok Sabha turnout of 64.6%.

The Election Commission noted that the turnout figure is provisional and may slightly change once the final tally is complete. However, officials said the enthusiasm among voters was “exceptionally high,” despite controversies surrounding the recent revision of voter lists.

Voter list revision and its political implications

The latest turnout comes amid a special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls that deleted 47 lakh names, reducing the total number of eligible voters from 7.89 crore to 7.42 crore.

Opposition parties have accused the ruling administration of using the revision to disenfranchise voters from poor and marginalised communities, who they claim traditionally back opposition alliances.

Theoretically, the smaller voter base could increase the turnout percentage even if the same number of people voted. Analysts caution that turnout data must be interpreted carefully in the context of this reduced voter list.

High turnout and anti-incumbency trends

Historically, Bihar’s voter turnout patterns have often hinted at anti-incumbency waves.

In 2010, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)-BJP alliance won comfortably with a turnout of 52.73%.

In 2015, Kumar joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, and a 4.18% higher turnout brought the alliance victory.

In 2020, when Kumar returned to the BJP alliance, turnout climbed to 57.29%, though JD(U)’s seat tally dropped sharply, forcing it into a junior partnership.

If that pattern holds, the 2025 high turnout could signal favourable winds for the opposition, led by Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan. However, experts warn that high turnout doesn’t always guarantee change — as seen in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP retained power despite rising voter participation.

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