Bihar Assembly Elections Announced: Two-Phase Voting From November 6, Results On November 14

The Election Commission has officially announced the dates for the Bihar Assembly elections. According to Chief Election Commissioner’s briefing, polling will be conducted in two phases — the first phase on November 6 and the second on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14, with the entire electoral process scheduled to conclude by November 16. This timeline comes roughly ten days after the Chhath festival, one of Bihar’s most significant celebrations. The state has a total of 243 assembly seats.Ahead of the elections, the first opinion poll conducted by IANS suggests a clear advantage for the NDA alliance, projecting 150–160 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan is expected to secure 70–85 seats. Other parties may bag 10–12 seats. The poll also reveals that Nitish Kumar remains the top choice for Chief Minister, with 42% of respondents favoring him. Tejashwi Yadav stands at 15%, followed by Prashant Kishor at 9%, Chirag Paswan at 8%, and Samrat Choudhary at 3%. Around 23% of voters prefer a different candidate for the top post, reflecting the diverse political sentiment in Bihar.