New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) The Bihar Assembly Election 2025 concluded with a historic milestone — a record voter turnout of 67.13 per cent, the highest ever recorded in the state since Independence, and “zero repolls” across all constituencies, the ECI said on Wednesday.

The ECI also highlighted that during the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024 — 96, three and two re-polls were conducted, respectively.

Similarly, during the Bihar assembly elections in 2015 and 2020, two and three re-polls were conducted

According to the ECI, this unprecedented achievement reflects the success of its Bihar First initiatives — a set of 17 focused reforms introduced since March 2025 to ensure free, fair, and inclusive elections.

Female voter participation was particularly notable, with 71.78 per cent turnout compared to 62.98 per cent among male voters.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, closely monitored the entire polling process through webcasting at all 90,740 polling stations, the ECI said in its press note.

The advanced digital infrastructure, powered by ECINet, ensured real-time supervision, voter facilitation, and timely data updates throughout the two-phased polls.

The Commission reported that scrutiny of poll documents in all 122 Assembly Constituencies was conducted smoothly in the presence of Returning Officers, General Observers, and over 460 candidates or their agents.

No discrepancies, malpractices, or irregularities were detected, resulting in no re-poll being recommended — a first in Bihar’s electoral history.

Among the major reforms were the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025, which produced a clean and updated electoral roll with 7.45 crore registered voters.

“SIR 2025 was conducted with zero appeals to ensure that the Bihar Electoral Roll was up to date and clean. Based on this exercise, 7,45,26,858 electors were eligible to vote in the elections across two phases,” the ECI said.

Other key initiatives included training Booth Level Officers in Delhi’s IIIDEM, doubling honorariums for election staff, establishing mobile deposit facilities outside polling stations, and ensuring 100 per cent webcasting to enhance transparency.

The Commission also introduced improvements in EVM design, mandatory VVPAT counting protocols, and a voter-centric app under ECINet for near real-time updates.

–IANS

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