By Kavita Mistry 
Can Tejashwi Yadav score a hat-trick in Raghopur? Will Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary make the move from MLC to MLA? Is political debutante Maithili Thakur the popular choice in Aliganj? Answers to all these questions will be stored in EVMs today as polls open across 121 seats for the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections.
With the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates in the balance, the first phase will be crucial in determing whether the NDA will return to power, or will Bihar vote for change.
The Mahagathbandhan has declared Tejashwi as its chief ministerial prospect in a bid to build on the anti-incumbency against CM Nitish Kumar.
And there is also the burning question: will political strategist-turned-neta Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party get through to the voters? Stay tuned to ThePrint for LIVE UPDATES on the first phase of voting for the 2025 Bihar election.
2025 Bihar election: LIVE UPDATES
10.00 AM: Vikassheel Insaan Party chief and Mahagathbandhan’s deputy CM face Mukesh Sahani casts his vote in Darbhanga.
#WATCH | VIP chief and Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy CM face Mukesh Sahani says, “My message is that everyone should step out of their house and cast their vote – for a better government and a better Bihar. Vote to strengthen democracy…This nation is yours, not of any politician.… https://t.co/V5yFLGjCFo pic.twitter.com/Dudyqyy1sc
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2025
9.40 AM: Early trends, according to ECI’s Voter Turnout App, show 13.13 percent turnout as of 9 AM in the first phase of voting in Bihar. State’s Chief Electoral Officer releases district-wise turnout figures.
VTR – 09:00 AM@ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/jXpdyDRFde
— Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar (@CEOBihar) November 6, 2025
9.15 AM: In posts on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah urged voters in Bihar to cast their votes “with full enthusiasm”.
बिहार में आज लोकतंत्र के उत्सव का पहला चरण है। विधानसभा चुनावों में इस दौर के सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा आग्रह है कि वे पूरे उत्साह के साथ मतदान करें। इस मौके पर पहली बार वोट डालने जा रहे राज्य के अपने सभी युवा साथियों को मेरी विशेष बधाई। याद रखना है- पहले मतदान, फिर जलपान!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 6, 2025
बिहार के मतदाता बहनों-भाइयों, विशेषकर युवाओं से आग्रह करता हूँ कि आज पहले चरण के मतदान में रिकॉर्ड संख्या में वोट करें।
आपका एक-एक वोट बिहार में जंगलराज की वापसी को रोकने, सुशासन को बनाए रखने और एक विकसित, आत्मनिर्भर बिहार के निर्माण का मार्ग प्रशस्त करेगा। घुसपैठियों और…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 6, 2025
9.00 AM: Singer and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Alinagar, Maithili Thakur offers prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple as Alinagar votes today.
#WATCH | #BiharElection2025 | Singer and BJP candidate from Alinagar, Maithili Thakur offers prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Alinagar, Darbhanga. pic.twitter.com/lglEj7HK2S
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2025
With Thakur, the party is trying to build an emotional connect with voters, presenting her as ‘Mithila ki beti’. ThePrint’s Neelam Pandey followed her on campaign trail. Read here what she said.
8.50 AM: Former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav casts his vote in Patna with other members of his family, including his wife and former CM Rabri Devi, his son Tejashwi Yadav who is Mahagathbandhan’s CM face for the polls, his wife Rajshree Yadav, and RJD leaders Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya.
#WATCH | Patna: Former Bihar CM and RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former CM Rabri Devi, RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan’s CM face Tejashwi Yadav, his wife, Rajshree Yadav, RJD leaders Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya show their inked fingers after casting their votes… pic.twitter.com/gs4MdDN4k1
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2025
8.45 AM: The Election Commission of India urges eligible voters to exercise their franchise to mark the “festival of democracy” as the first phase of voting in Bihar polls kicks off.
Polling Starts for #Phase1 elections across 121 Assembly Constituencies in #Bihar Today! ✅
Check out the facts at a glance for Phase 1 #BiharAssemblyElections, 6th November 2025#BiharElections2025 #LoktantrKaTyohar #ECI pic.twitter.com/PiH0lo0vlF
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) November 6, 2025
8.30 AM: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, who holds the fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, and Panchayati Raj portfolios, casts his vote in Patna. He expressed confidence that NDA government in the leadership of Nitish Kumar will retain power in Bihar.’
#WATCH | Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh casts his vote in #BiharElection2025, at a polling booth in Patna
He says, “This is a festival of democracy. We must follow ‘Pehle matdaan, phir jal-paan’…NDA government in the leadership of Nitish Kumar will be formed in… pic.twitter.com/uYSfZuwl88
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2025
8.15 AM: Voters begin queuing up at polling booths across constituencies to cast their votes. Early visuals from Mahua and Khagaria:
#WATCH | #BiharElection2025 | People queue up at a polling booth in Mahua as theya wait their turn to cast vote in the first phase of state assembly elections. pic.twitter.com/NSK1Urhrex
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2025
VIDEO | Bihar assembly polls phase-1: Voters turn up at 182 KN Club, Khagaria, to cast their votes early in the day.
A voter Kavita Kumari says, “I have come here early in the morning to cast vote. I want an educated government to get elected so that my children’s future can be… pic.twitter.com/v2DQg2MNtz
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 6, 2025
7 AM: Polls open across 121 seats
As polls open, 3.75 crore voters are set to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates in the first phase of the 2025 Bihar election. Polling day marks the culmination of a high-voltage campaign that saw PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar address a flurry of public meetings across the length and breadth of the state.
This was matched on the other side by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, as well as Prashant Kishor whose Jan Suraaj party is making its political debut.
Also Read: In race to win over Jeevika Didis, Tejashwi’s Bihar manifesto looks to one up NDA with big promise