1. Bihar Legislative Assembly elections concluded yesterday with a historic highest ever voter turnout of 67.13%*. This is the highest voter turnout ever recorded in the State since 1951. Turnout among male voters is 62.98% and amongst female voters it is 71.78%.
2. Election Commission of India (ECI) since March, 2025 had taken a slew of initiatives including 17 initiatives focused on poll-bound Bihar (Annexure-1). These initiatives were aimed at improving voter convenience, structured training of polling personnel, technology driven processes based on the constitutional and legal framework.
3. Special Intensive Revision (SIR), 2025 was conducted with zero appeals to ensure that the Bihar Electoral Roll was up to date and clean. Based on this exercise, 7,45,26,858 electors were eligible to vote in the elections across two-phases.
4. CEC Shri Gyanesh Kumar along with ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi kept a close watch on the poll proceedings through the Webcasting facility ensured at each of the 90,740 Polling Stations.
5. ECINet was the technological backbone for the elections which provided services for the voters and ensured timely data-collection for monitoring and supervision.
6. Scrutiny of documents was conducted smoothly in all 122 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) which went to polls in Phase-II of the elections in the presence of 122 Returning Officers (RO) and 122 General Observers (GO) appointed by the Commission. Around 460 candidates or their agents also participated in the scrutiny process.
7. After scrutiny, no discrepancy/malpractice was found at any of the Polling Station and no re-poll was recommended. With this over the two-phased Bihar elections zero re-polls have been recommended. This is a first in the recent history of elections in the State (refer Annexure-2).
8. The entire process was videographed and after scrutiny, Forms 17A and related materials were re-sealed with the RO’s seal.

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PK/GDH/RP

* Data is provisional and the final figures will be shared through ECI Index Card. Phase-II data updated in ECINet after including remaining 2027 Polling Stations. Refer footnote of Press Note No. ECI/PN/351/2025

ECI’S 17 BIHAR FIRST INITIATIVES

I. Electoral Rolls

1. 1. 1. Special Intensive Revision conducted with zero appeals to purify Electoral Roll in Bihar to ensure no eligible Elector was left out and no ineligible person was included.
      2. Remuneration doubled for BLOs, enhanced for BLO Supervisors and for polling/counting staff, CAPF, monitoring teams and micro-observers. Honorarium for EROs and AEROs for the first time.
      3. Faster Delivery of EPIC within 15 days of an update in Electoral Roll.
      4. Standard Photo ID cards for BLOs to enhance filed level transparency.

II. Training

5. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from Bihar trained for the first time in IIIDEM, Delhi.
6. Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by all Political Parties in Bihar trained in various aspects of supporting preparing Electoral Rolls at IIIDEM for the first time.
7. Special      sessions       conducted       for    Bihar      Police     to    reinforce      law     and     order preparedness during elections.

III. Conduct of Elections

8. Limit of 1,200 voters per polling station to reduce crowding and additional booths in high-rise residential complexes and societies.
9. Mobile Deposit Facility outside polling stations for convenience of voters.
10. Serial and part number displayed prominently on Voter Information Slips (VIS)
11. Important modules activated on ECINet App offering services for voters and polling staff.
12. Voter turnout figures updated on a near real-time basis by Presiding Officer on ECINet to ensure minimum delay in update.
13. Candidate Booths allowed to be set up just outside 100 meters of polling station.
14. 100% webcasting facility ensured at all polling stations to monitor critical poll activities.
15. EVM ballot papers carried colour photographs of candidates and made more readable.

IV. Counting

16.   Mandatory VVPAT counting instructed in case of mismatch between Form 17C and EVM data and wherever mock poll data was erroneously not erased.
17. Penultimate (second last) round of EVM/VVPATs counting shall be taken up only after the counting of Postal Ballot papers.