Bihar Election 2025 LIVE Updates: Court summons Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi for allegedly hurling abuses at PM Modi

RJD president Lalu Prasad on Monday gave away party tickets to candidates favoured by him, unfazed by inability of the INDIA bloc to formally announce a plan for seat-sharing.--PTI

Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav to contest Bihar polls from Mahua as his Janshakti Janta Dal announces candidates for 21 seats. --PTI

Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, who was back from Delhi a day after the NDA announced its seat-sharing formula, asserted that "all five constituents" were likely to declare their candidates "by tomorrow" and filing of nominations will be completed for both phases this week itself, news agency PTI reported.

The Samajwadi Party on Monday demanded the withdrawal of the Election Commission's new directive requiring Anganwadi workers to identify burqa-clad women voters during the Bihar assembly elections, saying that the move is against transparent, free, and fair polls. SP's state unit president Shyamlal Pal submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Election Commissioner of India through the state Chief Electoral Officer in Lucknow, alleging that the directive issued by CEC Gyanesh Kumar is "contrary to the rules of the Election Commission." The Election Commission on October 10 said special arrangements will be made at polling stations in Bihar for "dignified" identification of women voters in burqa or purdah.--PTI

A court in Bihar's Sheikhpura district on Monday issued summonses to INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and Mukesh Sahani in connection with alleged abuses hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Congress' Voter Adhikar Yatra in August.

The order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate of Sheikhpura, Vibha Rani, on a complaint filed by BJP leader Hiralal Singh on September 4.

The petitioner's counsel, Gopal Kumar Barnwal, said the court conducted a preliminary hearing and, after examining the matter, issued summonses to the three leaders, he said.

The CJM has ordered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, and Mukesh Sahani of the Vikassheel Insaan Party to appear before the court in person or through their legal representatives on November 26.

The complaint also lists 100 unidentified individuals as accused.--PTI

RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav met senior Congress leaders on Monday evening to finalise the seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the Bihar assembly polls.

Sources said Yadav met Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal and the party's in-charge for Bihar, Krishna Allavaru, here. He was expected to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, but it did not materialise.

The two main parties are engaged in consultations over seat-sharing among the Mahagathbandhan partners ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, amid claims and counter-claims made by both sides on each one's stronghold constituencies. --PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit poll-bound Bihar on a three-day tour from October 16, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference, Jaiswal said Shah will stay in the state till October 18, a period during which filing of nomination papers and campaign is likely to pick up momentum. (PTI)

The BJP in Bihar on Monday inducted two rebel leaders of the INDIA bloc who had won the last assembly polls on tickets of RJD and Congress, but had been sitting with members of the NDA inside the assembly after JD(U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined it in 2024.

State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal welcomed into the party Sangita Kumari, who last week resigned from her Mohania seat she had won as an RJD nominee, besides Siddharth Saurav, a two-term Congress MLA from Bikram.

According to a statement issued by the assembly secretariat, Saurav resigned from his seat on Monday. (PTI)

In a bid to enhance confidence of candidates in the efficacy of electronic voting machines, the Election Commission has started random distribution of EVMs and paper trail units ahead of the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls on November 6.

An EC statement said here on Monday that the first Randomisation was done through EVM Management System (EMS) by the district election officers in the presence of the representatives of national and state recognised political parties.

Officials said the second randomisation will take place by Tuesday. --PTI

The BJP on Monday launched a blistering attack on the RJD, claiming scams, manipulation in awarding government contracts and taking people's land after promising jobs were its model of governance.

This came after a special court here on Monday framed charges against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and their son Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state, in the alleged IRCTC scam case, setting the stage for a trial on October 27, ahead of polls in Bihar.

“Tejashwi Yadav is going to change Bihar with the charge of 420 (Section 420 of the erstwhile criminal code IPC referred to cheating) being framed against him by a competent court,” senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference. --PTI

Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the JD(U) and the BJP sat across the table here on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.

Both parties have decided to contest 101 seats each in the polls to the 243-strong assembly, a little less than they had fought five years ago, leaving 29 for Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and six each for Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha founded by former chief minister, and now a Union minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi. --PTI

In a move seemingly driven by disappointment over not being allocated a seat in the upcoming Bihar polls, the SBSP, a member of the NDA, announced on Monday that it will contest 153 seats in the state.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) National General Secretary Arvind Rajbhar made the announcement, stating that the party will reveal its candidates for the Bihar elections at a press conference in Patna on Tuesday. --PTI

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has announced the its second list of candidates for 65 seats for the upcoming Bihar polls. However, Kishor's name is not on this list, news agency PTI reported.

The ruling NDA will announce its candidates for the assembly elections in Bihar on Monday evening, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said.

Denying that there are any differences within the NDA over the seat-sharing arrangement announced on Sunday, he said the coalition will fight the elections unitedly.

"The NDA has already announced its seat-sharing arrangements. Now, candidates of all NDA constituents, including the BJP, will be announced in the evening," he told reporters.

-PTI

The National Democratic Alliance consists of the following parties -

-Bharatiya Janata Party

-Janata Dal (United)

-Lok Janshakti Party

-Hindustani Awam Morcha-

-Rashtriya Lok Morcha

Previous assembly elections took place in 2020.

Who won? - NDA won, with JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar becoming chief minister.

Later in August 2022, Nitish Kumar led the JD(U) to break ties with NDA and formed a government with the RJD led by Mahagathbandhan.

In 2024, Nitish Kumar once again formed a government with BJP-led NDA.

There are a total of 243 constituencies, voting for which will be done in two phases.

First phase will be on November 6.

Second phase will be on November 11.

The counting will be done on November 14, Friday.

The polls would be conducted by the Election Commission of India.

The notification for second phase of Assembly elections 2025 in Bihar is scheduled to be issued today.

NDA sources said the alliance initially sought to limit the LJP (RV) to 20–25 seats, but eventually conceded in view of its electoral leverage.

The final decision was taken after a meeting of the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi attended by PM Narendra Modi and senior BJP leaders from Delhi and Bihar.

The NDA on Sunday agreed to a seat-sharing formula for next month’s Bihar Assembly elections, with the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) agreeing to contest 101 each.

The deal, confirmed by JD(U) national working president Sanjay Jha and BJP’s election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, gives the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vikas) 29 seats, while the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) of Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) of Upendra Kushwaha will contest six seats each.

The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections will take place on November 6, with the second phase of voting on November 11.

More than 7.4 crore electors of the state will cast their votes. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

Welcome to our live blog! We will bring you all updates regarding the upcoming elections in Bihar.