The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Monday that the Bihar Assembly elections will take place in two parts: on November 6 and 11, with counting set for November 14.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar also talked about the controversy over using Aadhaar cards to register voters, especially during the extra rigorous revision of Bihar’s voter list, at a long news conference. The amending process caused a lot of trouble as the opposition said it could “disenfranchise lakhs of voters,” but the court later upheld the decision.
When media asked Kumar about the use of Aadhaar, he stated that the Supreme Court had told the election board to accept it as an identity document, but he also made clear its limits.
“The Supreme Court said Aadhaar can be used as an ID, but Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act makes it clear that it is not proof of citizenship or residency. Earlier decisions made it clear that Aadhaar is not a valid way to prove your date of birth. Kumar answered, “It is only proof of identity.”
The Supreme Court said earlier this month that Aadhaar can be used to check voters again. It also told election officials to make sure the Aadhaar card is real and said again that it cannot be used as proof of citizenship.
Kumar said that the Bihar voter revision operation, which revealed its final list last week, was done in a fair and open way that made sure the electoral lists were correct.
He went on to say, “Some political parties were worried at first, but once the process became clear, more people supported the Commission’s work.”
The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections will be a big political fight between the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal (United) alliance and the Mahagathbandhan, which is led by the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Prashant Kishor, a political strategist who helped Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee win big elections, will run for office for the first time with his own party, Jan Suraaj, in all 243 seats in the state. This adds a new level to the race.
Bihar’s 2025 election will be one of the most carefully watched state polls in recent years. There will be new coalitions, familiar faces, and the first appearance of a popular strategist-turned-politician.