Will Nitish Kumar take oath as chief minister a tenth time? Can Tejashwi Yadav lead Mahagathbandhan to victory? Is Prashant Kishor really the ‘X factor’ this election season? Answers to all these questions and more will be revealed today as the battle for Bihar enters its final leg.
Polling in Bihar was held in two phases (6 and 11 November), with the state witnessing a record voter turnout of 67.13 percent—highest since 1951.
Though early exit polls predicted an NDA majority, some pollsters have stuck their neck out by predicting that the battle for Bihar will go down to the wire.
Bihar has 243 assembly seats, which makes 122 the majority mark.
Stay tuned to ThePrint for the latest on Bihar election result.
LIVE | Bihar election result
9.15 am: NDA leads in 41 seats—ECI data
Data from the Election Commission of India shows NDA leads in 41 seats and the Mahagathbandhan in 12, as of 9.25 am.
9.00 am: NDA leads in early trends
Early trends, according to News18, show the NDA leads in 130 seats and the Mahagathbandhan in 66. Figures based on 201 out of 243 seats, as of 9 am.
8.30 am: BJP’s directive to all leaders
In the wake of the 10 November Red Fort blast, the Bharatiya Janata Party has issued directions to all leaders to keep celebrations low-key and to not burst firecrackers if the NDA wins today.
8.15 am: ‘A change is about to come’
Mahagathbandhan’s CM face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said he is confident that the alliance will win and form the government.
#WATCH | Patna: Bihar Assembly Election Results | Mahagathbandhan’s CM face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, “We are going to win. Thanks to everyone. A change is about to come. We are forming the government” pic.twitter.com/p6pVag0e96
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2025
8.00 am: Counting of votes begins
The fate of candidates in all 243 constituencies across 38 districts of Bihar to be decided over the next few hours. Counting also begins for Assembly by-elections in eight constituencies across six states and 1 Union Territory.
Tight security arrangements are in place across all constituencies. Visuals from Muzaffarpur and Patna:
#WATCH | Bihar: Police and Administration on alert in Muzaffarpur, preparations in place for the counting of #BiharElection2025 pic.twitter.com/nnq2z8AHXh
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2025
#WATCH | Bihar: Horse-mounted Police personnel carry out patrolling in Patna, as counting for #BiharElection2025 begins. pic.twitter.com/Bi7iKyD3j5
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2025
7.30 am: Why Bihar polls saw highest ever women voter turnout
From the Special Intensive Revision conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to women receiving Rs 10,000 under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana (MMRY), a cocktail of factors in the build-up to the Bihar assembly elections has paved the way for the state to witness its highest-ever women voter turnout since Independence.
The two-phase assembly polls concluded Tuesday, with a total voter turnout of 66.91 percent, the highest ever in Bihar since 1951, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The first phase saw a turnout of 69.04 percent of women voters, compared to 61.56 percent of men voters. In the second phase, 74.03 percent of women voters cast their ballot, compared to 64.1 percent of men voters.
In all, according to provisional data released by the ECI, Bihar this assembly polls saw a record-breaking participation of women voters—71.6 percent—the highest since 1962, when the men’s and women’s voter turnouts seem to have first been taken into account.
Political commentator and psephologist Sanjay Kumar calls it a “remarkable shift in Indian politics”, saying, “We see this happening in many states, but a nine percentage point gap between men and women turnout is something we have not witnessed in the past—either in Bihar or in any other state.”
Some experts call it an “empowerment story”. The state government’s Rs 10,000 benefits to women might have been a contributing factor. Others call it a statistical outcome of the Bihar SIR by the ECI.
Read Apoorva Mandhani’s report.
7.00 am: What exit polls say
The NDA is headed for a sweeping victory in Bihar, early exit polls predicted Tuesday, with a strong showing by the Janata Dal (United) likely to help the ruling coalition deny the Mahagathbandhan a shot at power. If the projections hold, Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, written off by many and battling perceptions of poor health, appears poised to take the oath of office a tenth time.
The INDIA bloc, made up of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, CPI(ML-L) and a handful of smaller parties, may struggle to reach the three-digit mark, while Prashant Kishor’s upstart Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), which became a major talking point during the campaign, is expected to draw a blank, multiple pollsters said.
Five years ago, exit polls had tilted toward the Opposition, with several predicting that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav would end Kumar’s two-decade reign. In the end, though, Yadav fell just short, even as the RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats in the 243-member Assembly.
Some exit polls now suggest the Opposition may win even fewer seats than what the RJD alone secured in 2020, forecasting a landslide for the NDA, which includes the JD(U), BJP, LJP (Ram Vilas) and a few smaller outfits.
Bihar exit polls predict ‘fir se Nitish’, double digits for Tejashwi-led Oppn, duck for Jan Suraaj
Sourav Roy Barman @Sourav_RB reports#BiharPollsWithThePrint pic.twitter.com/XfqPaoRk60
— ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) November 11, 2025
6.30 am: Raghopur to Tarapur—key seats in play
While each of the 243 seats in Bihar will play a role in who forms the next government, a few contests are being more keenly watched than others. From Raghopur where sitting MLA Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is in the fray, to Tarapur and Lakhisarai where Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha are locked in a tough contest. Other key seats are Chapra, Alinagar, and Chanpatia, where three political novices are making their electoral debut—Bhojpuri performer Khesarilal Yadav (RJD), folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP) and former journalist Manish Kashyap (Jan Suraaj).
Another closely watched contest is Mokama, where the ruling Janata Dal (United) has fielded local strongman Anant Kumar Singh. The seat was won by his wife in a bypoll in 2022 on an RJD ticket.
6 am: Counting of postal ballots to begin at 8 am
On Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) released a press note stating that counting of postal ballots will begin at 8 am Friday, followed by EVM counting at 8.30 am.
It reiterated that counting of postal ballots is to be completed before the penultimate round of EVM counting. It also said that 4,372 counting tables have been set up across Bihar’s 243 assembly constituencies where returning officers and more than 18,000 counting agents appointed by candidates will oversee the counting process.
“During EVM counting, Control Units are brought to the counting tables round-wise and shown to the counting agents to verify that the seals are intact and serial numbers match the records in Form 17C (Part I),” it explained. The poll panel added that the number of votes recorded in EVMs is cross-verified with entries in Form 17C and in case of any mismatch, “VVPAT slips from that polling station are to be counted mandatorily”.
In its press note, the EC also said that no re-polls were requested by the 2,616 candidates in the fray this time, or the 12 recognised political parties.
In the run-up to the election, poll panel had come under intense criticism over its decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which resulted in the final electoral roll comprising 7,45,26,858 electors.
Also Read: From Virat & Anushka selling sarias to dentist ads, Bihar walls tell a ‘rurbanisation’ story
