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New Delhi: The Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Tuesday with the highest-ever voter turnout of 66.91% since the state’s first elections in 1951, according to figures released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In a notable shift, women voters once again outpaced men, registering a turnout of 71.6%, compared to 62.8% among male voters. The ECI termed this a “historic milestone” for women’s participation in Bihar’s democratic process — the highest-ever female turnout recorded in the state’s electoral history.
For context, the previous record for male voter turnout in Bihar was 70.71% in the 2000 assembly elections, while women’s voter participation stood at 60.48% in the 2015 elections.
“Bihar has created history with women voters setting new benchmarks in electoral participation,” the Election Commission said in a statement. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, personally monitored polling activities across 45,399 polling stations during the second and final phase.
The two-phase election witnessed an extensive deployment of human resources, including approximately 8.5 lakh polling-related staff, over 1.4 lakh polling agents representing 2,616 candidates, and a robust monitoring team comprising 243 general observers, 38 police observers, and 67 expenditure observers, as stated by the ECI.
Adding an international dimension, 16 delegates from six countries — South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, and Colombia — observed the poll proceedings under the International Election Visitors’ Programme, marking a first for Bihar.
Meanwhile, the elections were conducted amid political controversy, with the Congress alleging “vote theft” and irregularities in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls carried out by the Commission ahead of the polls. The same electoral roll revision process has now been extended nationwide.
Exit polls released on Monday projected a clear edge for the ruling BJP–JD(U)-led NDA alliance, although official results are expected only after the counting on November 14. Elsewhere, in Punjab, the Tarn Taran Assembly by-election held on the same day recorded a 60.95% voter turnout, with 1,92,838 electors casting their votes. The turnout among women (61.12%) was slightly higher than that of men (60.80%), according to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer.
