Bihar Election 2025: EC to Announce Poll Dates Today

Patna, October 6: By late afternoon today, Bihar will know when it goes to vote. The Election Commission of India is expected to announce the 2025 Assembly Election schedule at 4 p.m., ending weeks of speculation and half-formed political calculations.

In Patna’s political lanes, the air feels heavy. Party workers are repainting walls, the local tea shops are full of talk about alliances, and everyone from ruling NDA loyalists to the INDIA bloc hopefuls has their eyes on the clock.

The Deadline That Drives Everything

The current Bihar Assembly runs out of time on November 22, which means the election process has to wrap up before then counting. Inside the ECI, officials have hinted that this time the exercise could be shorter. Unlike 2020, which stretched across three phases in pandemic conditions, 2025 might be trimmed down to make it easier to manage both men and machines.

No one’s saying it out loud, but that would also help reduce fatigue among voters and officials who often work in punishing conditions across Bihar’s 38 districts.

A Voter List Like No Other

The loudest noise this year hasn’t come from campaign speeches but from the voter list. The ECI calls it a “purification.” Critics call it a purge.

Under a Special Intensive Revision, Bihar’s rolls have been rewritten for the first time in more than two decades. There are 7.42 crore registered voters now. About 65 to 70 lakh names have been removed mostly people who’ve moved, died, or appeared more than once on the rolls.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar insists the clean-up is genuine, even necessary, and says it will become a “national model.” Opposition parties aren’t convinced. Leaders from the RJD and Congress argue that deletions seem concentrated in certain pockets. For them, it’s not just about numbers, it’s about trust.

The Booths Get a Makeover

There are quieter changes too, the kind that make a difference on polling day. Each polling station will now serve a maximum of 1,200 voters. Booth officers will wear clear identification, and no voter can carry a mobile phone inside.

These sound like routine measures on paper, but in Bihar, they’re anything but. This is the state that practically invented the phrase “booth capturing.” Every new rule comes from an old story. Each one is a small attempt to make sure the next vote counts the way it should.

Security, Observers, and Oversight

The Commission has pulled in a massive security presence over 500 companies of Central Armed Police Forces are expected to be on duty. Around 470 central observers, mostly senior bureaucrats, will fan out across the state to watch every step of the process.

A few days ago, more than 400 officers met in Delhi for a closed-door briefing. They were told, in plain terms, that Bihar’s election will be watched not just by its people but by the entire country. The subtext: this one needs to be spotless.

When the Model Code Kicks In

The moment the schedule is announced, the Model Code of Conduct takes effect. It stops the state government from announcing new schemes, transferring officials, or using public spaces for political gain.

CEC Kumar has already warned that there will be “zero tolerance for violence.” It sounds like a routine statement, but in Bihar, that’s a promise weighted by history. Older voters still remember elections marred by muscle power and booth intimidation. The Commission’s challenge now is to keep that past from returning.

The Wait for 4 p.m.

At four o’clock, the Commission will lay out the whole calendar, polling dates, nomination deadlines, withdrawal windows, counting day, everything. That’s when the clock officially starts ticking.

Until then, Bihar waits restless, noisy, full of anticipation. Behind the scenes, alliances are being polished, slogans tested, and campaign trucks tuned. The state has seen dozens of elections, but every time the stakes feel new.

For voters, this one is not just about choosing a government. It’s also about whether they still believe the system can get it right.

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Sandeep Verma

Community Reporter – Sandeep@hindustanherald.in – Web

Regional journalist bringing grassroots perspectives and stories from towns and cities across India.

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