Bihar Assembly Elections 2026: ECI Announces Full Schedule — April 18 & 25 Polling, Counting April 30

The Election Commission of India announced the two-phase schedule for Bihar Assembly elections 2026, covering all 243 seats. The Model Code of Conduct comes into immediate effect.

Representative image. Photo: Nationalism News

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections 2026, setting Phase 1 polling on April 18 and Phase 2 on April 25, with counting of votes on April 30. The announcement brings into immediate effect the Model Code of Conduct across the state.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, flanked by the two Election Commissioners, said a total of 7.8 crore voters are registered in Bihar, with 43 lakh being first-time voters in the 18-19 age bracket. He said the Commission has identified 1,500 sensitive booths and deployed Central Armed Police Forces across all 38 districts.

Phase 1 on April 18 will cover 121 constituencies across northern and central Bihar, including Patna Sahib, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga. Phase 2 on April 25 covers the remaining 122 constituencies, including Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea. Over 94,000 polling stations have been set up.

The Janata Dal (United)-BJP alliance, which governs Bihar, is contesting all 243 seats under the National Democratic Alliance umbrella. The INDIA bloc, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, has announced a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress and the CPI(M). The Left parties are contesting 18 seats.

The Commission has deployed 1,200 observer officers including 400 IAS and 800 IPS officers across the state. It has also launched a voter helpline 1950 and a mobile app for real-time complaint registration. Expenditure monitoring teams have been set up in all 38 districts with Rs 2,500 crore cash seizure limit per constituency.