Migrant voters, women drive record 64.66 per cent turnout in first phase of Bihar polls

Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 64.66 per cent in the first phase of the Assembly elections, with returning migrant workers and women voters seen as key contributors. Many migrants reportedly returned for Chhath Puja, coinciding with the polling dates

New Delhi: Even as women voters in Bihar again joined in large numbers in the first phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly election 2025, participation from a significant number of migrants this year is also being considered among factors that could have led to the highest-ever voter turnout of 64.66 per cent on Thursday.

Most of these workers, mostly engaged by business establishments, construction sites, or as farm labourers elsewhere, usually return home during festivals like Chhath Puja. Chhath is primally observed in