Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Final voter list to be released tomorrow; Polls likely in last week of October

Patna: Preparations for the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections are in full swing. The Election Commission announced the publication of the final voter list on Tuesday. Following this, the state election schedule is expected to be announced next week. According to sources, the first phase may be held in the last week of October, after the Chhath festival. Election Commission Preparations and Visits The Election Commission team will visit Patna on October 4th and 5th to review election preparations. The Bihar Legislative Assembly has a total of 243 members, and their current term ends on 22 November. The Election Commission is deploying 470 observers for the Bihar Assembly elections and some assembly by-elections. Additionally, a meeting of general, police, and expenditure observers will be held on 3 October. The previous assembly elections in Bihar were held in three phases and were also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, the election process is expected to be more systematic and prepared. “I Love Muhammad” movement spreads to Bihar; One arrested Special Intensive Revision (SIR) After 22 Years This time, Bihar's final voter list is being published after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This revision was carried out after a gap of 22 years. The draft voter list was published on 1 August. Citizens and political parties were given the opportunity to file claims and objections for amendments until 1 September. The draft list contained a total of 7.24 crore voters. The objective of this thorough revision is to make the voter list more accurate and up-to-date. Opposition Protests and Commission Response However, opposition parties strongly criticized the SIR, claiming that it could affect the voting rights of millions of citizens. The Election Commission clarified that no eligible citizen would be excluded from the voter list, nor would any inauthentic person be included in the list. This move sends a message of increasing transparency in the election process and ensuring the rights of all eligible voters. Bihar Polls: EC assigns 470 central observers, 320 IAS officers Preparations for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections are in full swing. The election schedule is expected to be announced next week after the publication of the final voter list. The first phase of voting is expected to take place in the last week of October. Special, intensive verification and the deployment of observers will ensure that all eligible citizens can vote and that the elections are conducted fairly.