• Source:JND
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Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Voter participation in the 2025 Assembly Elections reached an all-time high, with a combined 66.91 per cent turnout across both phases. The first phase, held on November 6th, saw 64.66 per cent of voters cast their ballot. This figure was surpassed in the second phase on Tuesday, which recorded a strong 68.52 per cent turnout.

Speaking at a press conference late Tuesday, Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjyal said that data for approximately 2,000 booths from the second phase is still being compiled. The second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, covering 122 seats across 20 districts, saw a significant turnout, Singh added.

Katihar recorded the highest participation at 78.63 per cent, followed closely by Kishanganj (78.06 per cent) and Purnia (76.04 per cent). The overall voter turnout this year has increased by 9.6 per cent compared to the 2020 Assembly elections, Jagran.com reported.

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Key Reasons Behind ‘Record Voter Turnout’

- Women's Participation: Women voters significantly outshone men, driving the overall turnout. A nearly 10 percentage point gap shows increasingly political engagement of women, possibly influenced by women-centric welfare schemes and cash transfer promises.

- Higher Migrant Workers’ Participation: A significant factor that drove the surge could be the running of over 12,000 special trains during Diwali and Chhath festivals.

- Welfare Schemes: The political analysts attribute the surge, especially among women, to the NDA government’s welfare provisions, including the Rs 10,000 disbursement to women associated with livelihood groups and the promise of 125 units of free electricity per month to numerous families, Jagran.com reported.

- ECI Initiatives: The Election Commission of India (ECI) efforts, such as Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, increased focus on accessibility for PwD (Persons with Disabilities) voters, and the deployment of Jeevika Didis to assist female voters, encouraged higher voter participation.

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Other key efforts, such as better deployment of polling staff, mock drills, enhanced security, improved facilities, and an increase in polling stations, contributed to the record voter turnout in the state's history.

(With Agency Inputs)

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