Patna: Bihar has achieved a new milestone in voter engagement, with the second phase of the 2025 assembly elections marking a historic turnout of 68.79%. This figure is anticipated to rise further as results from approximately 2,000 polling stations are still being processed, exceeding all prior voting records in the state. Cumulatively, both phases of voting have yielded an overall turnout of 66.93% — the highest ever recorded in Bihar. During a press conference on Tuesday evening, Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjyal stated that the second phase encompassed 122 seats across 20 districts, involving 45,399 polling stations and nearly 37 million registered voters, including 19.5 million men and 17.4 million women.
Women again surpassed men in voter turnout, with preliminary figures indicating a 69.04% turnout among female voters compared to 61.56% among male voters. Katihar led the state with an impressive turnout of 78.63%, followed by Kishanganj at 78.06% and Purnia at 76.04%. The second phase had 1,302 candidates, comprising 1,135 men and 136 women. The Election Commission reported a peaceful voting process throughout the day, with no need for booth relocations. Gunjyal highlighted that the overall turnout is 9.6 percentage points higher than the last assembly election. “Bihar has once again shown its strong democratic commitment,” he remarked, adding that the final voter percentage may see a slight increase once all data is finalized.
Bihar, often called the “mother of democracy” due to its ancient political roots in Vaishali, recorded a remarkable 65.08% turnout in the first phase on 6 November, a record now surpassed by the second phase held on Tuesday.