Claim: Between the declaration of Bihar’s Assembly polls and the day votes were cast, the state’s voter roll grew by over 300,000.
A day after the Bihar election results, the Congress posted on social media platform X, asking, “How did 300,000 votes get added in the middle of the Bihar elections?” CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has also sought an explanation from the Election Commission.
In Bihar, elections for the 243 Assembly seats were announced on 6 October. The rationale behind the Congress raising suspicion is based on official figures.
In the press release issued by the Election Commission, it was stated that as of 30 September, 2025, the number of general voters in Bihar was 7,41,92,357. However, after voting concluded, this number was reported to be 7,45,26,858. This figure also includes NRI voters, while service voters have not been counted.
The Election Commission has clarified that names can be added to or removed from the electoral roll up to ten days before the nomination process begins.
While announcing the Bihar election dates, the Chief Election Commissioner had also noted: “If someone’s name has been left out of the voter list, it can be added up to ten days before the nomination.”
This story will examine which districts in Bihar recorded the largest increase in voter numbers, and how the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan performed in those areas.
During the Bihar elections, 3.34 lakh voters were added
Number of voters at the time of election announcement: 7,41,92,357 (including NRI voters)
Number of voters after polling ended: 7,45,26,858 (including NRI voters)
An analysis of Election Commission data shows that between the announcement of the elections and the voting period, the total number of voters across all districts in Bihar increased by 3,34,501. This includes NRI voters.
In a press release issued on 11 November after the polling process concluded, the Election Commission stated, “The Bihar Assembly elections concluded with a record voter turnout of 66.91%. This is the highest turnout recorded in the state since 1951. The voter turnout among men was 62.8%, while among women it rose to 71.6%.”
The data released by the Election Commission is provisional.
Top 5 districts where the number of voters increased the most?
An analysis of the data shows that Gaya district recorded the highest increase in voters during the election, with 20,456 new voters added. Rohtas ranks second with an increase of 20,030 voters. Bhojpur is third with 17,930 additional voters. In West Champaran and Purnia, the number of voters increased by 16,649 and 15,639 respectively.
These five districts together comprise 40 Assembly seats, out of which the NDA won 34, while the Mahagathbandhan managed to win only 4. Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM secured victory on two seats.
In Gaya district’s 10 Assembly seats, the NDA won 9, while the Mahagathbandhan succeeded on just one seat.
In Rohtas, the NDA won 6 out of 7 Assembly seats, and the Mahagathbandhan won one.
In Bhojpur, all 7 Assembly seats went to the NDA.
In West Champaran, the NDA won 7 out of 9 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan won 2.
In Purnia, the Mahagathbandhan failed to win even a single seat. The NDA secured 5 seats, while AIMIM won 2.
The 5 districts where the number of voters increased the least
According to the data, Arwal recorded the lowest increase in voters between the election announcement and the polling, with only 1,490 new voters added. Lakhisarai saw an increase of 1,830 voters. Sheikhpura ranks third from the bottom, with 1,861 additional voters. In Supaul and Jehanabad, the number of voters increased by 2,253 and 2,497 respectively.
These five districts recorded the lowest increase in the number of voters. Out of the 14 Assembly seats in these districts, the NDA won 11, while the Mahagathbandhan succeeded on 3 seats.
In Arwal’s two Assembly seats, the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan won one seat each.
Both Assembly seats in Lakhisarai went to the NDA.
The NDA also won both seats in Sheikhpura.
All five Assembly seats in Supaul were won by the NDA.
In Jehanabad, the Mahagathbandhan won two out of three seats, while the NDA won one.
The question now arises: Did the 334,501 voters added after the Bihar election announcement have any one-sided impact on the results? A look at the data suggests the answer is likely no.
Seat-wise analysis shows that there are 10 Assembly seats where the number of voters added after the election announcement is higher than the winning margin. Of these 10 seats, the NDA won 5, the Mahagathbandhan won 4, and the BSP won 1 seat. Apart from these, in the remaining 233 seats, the victory margins were higher than the number of added voters.
In this election, the NDA secured a landslide victory. Out of the 243 seats in the state, the BJP won the highest number with 89 seats. Its ally, the JD(U), won 85 seats. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) secured 19 seats. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha won five and four seats, respectively.
The Mahagathbandhan’s performance was quite disappointing. Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD had to settle for just 25 seats, while its ally the Congress won six seats. The CPI(ML) won two seats, and the CPM and IP each secured one seat.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM managed to win five seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party also won one seat.