Harish Rawat says Bihar voting against '20 years of bad governance' as first phase of Bihar polls underway
Nov 06, 2025
New Delhi [India], November 6 : Congress leader Harish Rawat on Thursday said Bihar is voting for change as people are tired of 20 years of poor governance and rising unemployment.
Rawat added that the impact of the joint campaign by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav is clearly visible among voters.
Speaking to ANI, Harish Rawat said, "... Bihar is fed up with the 20 years of bad governance... Unemployment is at its peak there. Bihar is voting against these issues... The effect of the way that Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav have campaigned is clearly visible."
Voting for the first phase of the Bihar elections 2025 is underway across 121 constituencies in 18 districts of the state, covering approximately 3.75 crore electors and 243 seats.
Bihar recorded a brisk voter turnout of 42.31 per cent as of 1 pm in the first phase of assembly elections, as per the data of the Election Commission of India.
Among the 18 districts, Gopalganj recorded the highest turnout of 46.73 per cent, followed by Lakhisarai with 46.37 per cent and Begusarai with 46.02 per cent, till 1 pm.
Polling will conclude at 6 pm, and due to security considerations, polling time has been curtailed to 5 pm in some constituencies.
The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the fray in the first phase.
In the 2020 polling took place in, three phases. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 125 seats, while the opposition Mahagathbandhan (MGB) won 110. Among the major parties, the Janata Dal (United) bagged 43 seats, the BJP bagged 74, the RJD secured 75 seats and the Congress 19. The JD(U) contested 115 constituencies, the BJP 110, whereas the RJD contested 144 seats and the Congress 70.
