Patna: Women voters have once again reshaped Bihar’s electoral landscape, delivering a historic turnout in the 2025 assembly elections. According to the Election Commission, women outvoted men by a striking nine percentage points across the two phases, pushing the overall turnout to a record 66.91%—the highest in the state’s electoral history.
In the first phase, 69.04% of women cast their ballots compared with 61.56% of men. The gap widened further in the second phase, where women registered a turnout of 74.03%, while men stood at 64.10%. Combined, women voted at an impressive 71.60% compared with 62.80% for men, confirming a clear and sustained gender gap favouring female participation.
Overall turnout in the second phase reached 68.89%, surpassing the first phase’s 65.08%. Voting was monitored through live webcasting from all 45,399 polling booths. Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, Vinod Singh Gunjyal, said data from around 2,000 booths is still being compiled, suggesting the final figures may rise slightly.
Katihar recorded the highest turnout at 78.63%, followed by Kishanganj at 78.06% and Purnia at 76.04%. Gunjyal said the two-phase election involved eight and a half lakh polling staff, 1.4 lakh polling agents and 1.80 lakh Jeevika Didis.
Observers note that the surge in women voters—often considered decisive in Bihar politics—could prove crucial in determining the final outcome as parties await results and exit poll projections.
