Bihar elections phase one campaigning ended on the evening of 3 November, with leaders from the ruling alliance and the opposition holding final rallies, roadshows and press conferences before polling. The Bihar elections first phase will cover 121 constituencies in 18 districts, and voting is scheduled for 6 November. The second phase will be held on 11 November, and votes will be counted on 14 November, according to ANI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with women party workers through the NaMo App on the last day of campaigning for the first phase. He said the people of Bihar had made up their minds to give the National Democratic Alliance a victory in the Bihar elections, and to break the record of the last 20 years. He said development in Bihar could only be delivered under the NDA, and he urged party workers, including panna pramuks, to ensure maximum participation by voters.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held rallies in Darbhanga, Motihari and Bettiah on the last day of campaigning. He criticised the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the period when Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi were in power in Bihar, which he described as jungle raj. He appealed to voters to support the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bihar elections and to prevent a return to that period.
Bihar elections and the Mahagathbandhan promises
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face, held a press conference on the final day. He expressed confidence that the alliance would remove the Nitish Kumar government from office. He promised farmers an additional Rs 300 per quintal for paddy and Rs 400 per quintal for wheat over the existing minimum support price, if the Mahagathbandhan forms the government after the Bihar elections.
Tejashwi Yadav also promised free electricity for irrigation to farmers. He repeated a promise under the Mai Bahin Maan Yojana, under which women enrolled in the scheme would receive Rs 30,000 in their accounts on 14 January, the day of Makar Sankranti. The date was presented as a symbolic start to the new year for the scheme.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in Aurangabad on the final day. He expressed confidence that the Mahagathbandhan would form the government, and said that government would be inclusive. He alleged that Nitish Kumar was only the mask of the government, while actual control lay with Modi and Shah. He also criticised the Agnipath scheme, saying that 75 per cent of Agniveers are discharged after four years of service.
Bihar elections and the Jan Suraaj campaign
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor held roadshows in Sandesh, Arrah and Shahpur on the last day of campaigning. He urged voters to support his party as a new option for changing the system of governance in Bihar. He criticised Tejashwi Yadav for making promises ahead of the polls, and said the RJD leader should explain what he would do after losing elections.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed rallies in support of NDA candidates in Alauli and Khagaria in Khagaria district, Teghra in Begusarai district, and Masaurhi in Patna district. His campaign in the final days focused on the record of the NDA government in Bihar and on the candidates standing in the first phase seats.
The first phase covers a large part of the state, with 121 of the 243 assembly seats going to the polls on 6 November. Both alliances have published manifestos for the election, and the campaign in the first phase seats has been intense, with national leaders travelling to Bihar through the final week.
What happens next in the Bihar elections
With campaigning for the first phase over, attention now turns to polling day on 6 November. Election officials will run voting in 121 constituencies across 18 districts, and party workers will focus on turning out their supporters. The silence period that follows the end of campaigning bars further public meetings and rallies for those seats.
The second phase, on 11 November, will cover the remaining 122 seats. Campaigning for that phase continues while the first phase goes to the polls, which means leaders will move to the second phase districts in the days after 6 November. Counting for both phases will take place on 14 November, when the result for all 243 seats will be known.
The Bihar elections result will decide whether the NDA, led in Bihar by Nitish Kumar, stays in office, or whether the Mahagathbandhan, led by Tejashwi Yadav, forms the next government. Jan Suraaj will also learn whether its campaign as a new option has translated into seats in the Bihar elections. The first votes, on 6 November, will be the first test of those claims.