Bihar Assembly Election Phase 1 Facts At A Glance: Constituencies, Candidates, Criminal Antecedents, Income Records And More
Bihar Assembly Election 2025 Phase 1 today (November 6) covers 121 seats, 1,314 candidates, including major leaders like Tejashwi Yadav and Samrat Choudhary
Published : November 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM IST
Patna: The first phase of the Bihar Assembly Election is being held today (Thursday, November 6, 2025). The voting takes place in 121 constituencies spread across 18 districts. The second phase will be held on November 11, 2025, and the counting for all 243 seats will take place on November 14, 2025.
The first phase covers several politically sensitive and high-profile seats, including those of key leaders from the BJP, JD(U), RJD, and Congress.
Polling Schedule and Arrangements
Voting began at 7 AM and will continue till 5 PM. However, in certain sensitive areas, the polling will end at 4 PM due to security concerns. Voters who are still in line after the scheduled closing time will be allowed to cast their votes.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made elaborate security and administrative arrangements for smooth polling. A total of 45,341 polling booths have been set up, out of which 36,733 booths are in rural areas and 8,608 booths are in urban regions. Polling officials have undergone special training to ensure that the voting process remains transparent, safe, and efficient.
Districts and Constituencies Voting In Phase 1
A total of 18 districts are voting in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly Election today. The districts and number of constituencies going to the polls are as follows:
- MADHEPURA- 4 seats
- SAHARSA-4 seats
- DARBHANGA- 10 seats
- MUZAFFARPUR- 11seats
- GOPALGANJ- 6 seats
- SIWAN- 8 seats
- SARAN- 10 seats
- VAISHALI- 8 seats
- SAMASTIPUR- 10 seats
- BEGUSARAI- 7 seats
- KHAGARIA- 4 seats
- MUNGER- 3 seats
- LAKHISARA- 2 seats
- SHEIKHPURA- 2 seats
- NALANDA- 7 seats
- PATNA- 14 seats
- BHOJPUR- 7 seats
- BUXAR- 4 seats
In 2020, both NDA and Mahagathbandhan won nearly an equal number of seats in these 18 districts, showing a closely fought contest.
Total Candidates and Party Wise Breakdown
A total of 1,314 candidates are contesting in Phase 1, which includes 1,191 males, 122 females, and 1 transgender candidate.
Party-wise candidates in fray:
- JD(U) - 57 candidates
- BJP - 48 candidates
- RJD - 72 candidates
- INC - 24 candidates
- JSP - 118 candidates
- VIP - 5 candidates
- CPI(ML)(L) - 14 candidates
- LJP(RV) - 13 candidates
- Independents- 464 candidates
- Others - 499 candidates
Division-wise Candidate Count
Darbhanga Division- 231 candidates
Kosi Division- 82 candidates
Munger Division- 185 candidates
Patna Division- 351 candidates
Saran Divion- 230 candidates
Tirhut Division- 235 candidates
Age and Education Profile of Candidates
Most candidates fall within the 41-60 years age range. There are also several young contestants between 25-30 years, showing growing youth participation.
Graduates: 295
Post Graduates: 206
Graduate Professionals: 117
Doctorates: 40
12h Pass: 261
10th Pass: 178
Illiterate: 8
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, a total of 519 candidates are crorepatis, meaning their declared assets exceed Rs 1 crore.
Top Crorepati Candidates
Kumar Pranay (BJP)- Munger - Rs 170 crore
Raj Kishor Gupta (IND)- Maharajganj - Rs 137
Anant Kumar Singh (JD(U))- Mokama - Rs 100 crore
Dr Kumar Puspanjay (JD(U))- Barbigha - Rs 94 crore
Arun Kumar (RJD)- Tarapur - Rs 83 crore
Sandip Kumar Singh Alias Gopal Sandeep Singh (JSP)- Maner - Rs 80 crore
Deo Kumar Chaurasia (RJD)- Hajipur - Rs 68 crore
Rajeev Ranjan (IND)- Jagdishpur - Rs 63 crore
Arun Kumar Gupta (RJD)- Barharia - Rs 54 crore
Sanjay Kumar Singh (LJP- RV)- Simri Bakhtiarpur - Rs 45 crore
The candidate with the highest declared annual income is Rajeev Ranjan (IND) from Jagdishpur with over Rs 6 crore, followed by Dr Kumar Puspanjay (JD(U)) from Barbigha with Rs 4.6 crore. On the other hand, the poorest candidates include Mojahid Alam (SUCI-C) from Darbhanga and Shatrudhan Varma (PPI-D) from Barh, both declaring just Rs 1,000 in assets.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, 423 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, while 354 face serious criminal charges. These include 33 candidates accused of murder, 86 candidates accused of attempt to murder, and two candidates accused of rape. There are 91 "Red Alert" constituencies, meaning 75 per cent of constituencies have three or more candidates with criminal records.
Top 10 Candidates with Criminal Cases
- Anant Kumar Singh
- Vikash Kumar Alias Dikesh Singh
- Shyam Bharti
- Rampravesh Singh
- Amrendra Kumar Pandey
- Amarjeet Kushwaha
- Karnveer Singh Yadav
- Devchandra Yadav
- Aniruddh Kumar
- Sunil Kumar
Key Seats and Star Candidates
Raghopur (RJD): Former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav seeks re-election.
Mahua: Tej Pratap Yadav is contesting with a new outfit.
Tarapur (BJP) : Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is in the fray.
Lakhisarai (BJP): Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha contests here.
Alinagar (BJP): Folk Singer Maithili Thakur makes her political debut.
Past Election Performance
In the 2020 Assembly election, the NDA (BJP + JD(U)) secured 125 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan (RJD + Congress) won 110 seats. The RJD was the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by the BJP (74) and the JD(U)) (43).
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