Recall the pre-Nitish era: a state mired in caste carnages, kidnappings, and extortion. Evening travel from villages to towns was impossible without fear. Nitish flipped the script with world-class infrastructure. A filmmaker from Supaul now flies from Mumbai, reaching home in five hours via pristine roads—no more two-day ordeals from Delhi.

His genius lay in balancing adversaries. Allied with BJP, he shielded Bihar from their polarizing policies, maintaining socialist ethos. Unlike Lalu’s tenure, which quelled communalism but exacerbated caste rifts leading to mass killings, Nitish healed both wounds.

Women’s liberation became reality under him. Girls pedaled to distant schools on free bicycles, pursuing higher education independently. Markets buzz with female shoppers unafraid. Prohibition targeted male alcoholism’s toll on families—fewer beatings, more stability, even if illicit liquor trickles in from UP.

Nitish championed EBCs, granting them panchayat quotas and integrating them with upper castes via social justice. Women secured half the seats in quotas, from jobs to local governance, birthing a generation of assertive leaders free from patriarchal shadows.

Politically nimble, Nitish navigated coalitions masterfully: NDA stints, a brief UPA flirtation with RJD, back to NDA amid corruption rows, then Mahagathbandhan, INDIA alliance, and latest NDA return post-2025 wins. Handing home portfolio to BJP’s deputy hints at transition.

Nicknamed ‘Sushasan Babu’ for good governance, his advisory circle—including RC Prasad, KC Tyagi, Sharad Yadav, and George Fernandes—shaped this turnaround. Post-Nitish, analysts foresee Muslim voters fleeing to Congress, potentially reviving it against RJD dominance.

Leading the charge, President Droupadi Murmu will chair the central ceremony as Chief Guest. Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Law and Justice, joins as a distinguished guest. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and Dr. Vivek Joshi will steer the proceedings.

In a cherished ritual, the President addresses the gathering and presents Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to first-time young voters. Awards will recognize outstanding contributions in technology integration, logistics mastery, voter outreach innovations, Model Code enforcement, training excellence, and more, including media honors.

Event highlights include the release of two publications: one chronicling 2025’s groundbreaking initiatives and another celebrating Bihar’s electoral success as ‘Festival of Elections, Pride of Bihar’. A video montage will highlight ECI’s international stature in election administration.

Visitors can explore an immersive exhibition detailing voter registration processes and election operations, with showcases of voter-centric reforms and Bihar’s 2025 polls. Across India, parallel events at state, district, and booth levels ensure widespread participation, where BLOs will celebrate new voters and issue IDs, strengthening the voter base from the ground up.

Detailed planning reveals a comprehensive route spanning Bihar’s length and breadth, with stops in urban hubs like Patna and rural strongholds alike. Paswan intends to personally acknowledge the sacrifices of party workers and the electorate, sharing stories of resilience from his journey post his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s demise.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment. As India celebrates the Ram Temple inauguration, Paswan’s team has astutely scheduled the yatra to follow, ensuring it captures undivided attention. Key themes include accelerating industrial growth through his ministry’s initiatives, improving agricultural yields, and creating job avenues for Bihar’s burgeoning youth population.

What sets this yatra apart is its interactive format. Unlike traditional rallies, it will incorporate feedback sessions where locals can voice concerns directly to the minister. This approach echoes Paswan’s 2020 Parivartan Yatra success, which nearly doubled his party’s seat share despite odds.

Political observers note that the tour could strengthen LJP(RV)’s bargaining power within the NDA. With five MPs from Bihar, Paswan is no lightweight, and this visible outreach might pressure allies like JD(U) to recalibrate seat-sharing talks.

Opposition voices, led by Tejashwi Yadav, label it electioneering in disguise, but Paswan counters that true leadership involves staying grounded with the people. As preparations intensify, all eyes are on how this yatra fortifies his base and influences Bihar’s political chessboard ahead of crunch-time polls.

Singh, a former Union Home Secretary and ex-Power Minister, had been vocal in his criticism of the NDA leadership and the prevailing law and order situation in Bihar. His public critiques targeted corruption allegations against leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, urging them to step down or clarify their positions. Furthermore, Singh had controversially advised voters to reject candidates with criminal backgrounds, even naming allies within the NDA. He also publicly questioned the Election Commission’s handling of poll-related violence, particularly in Mokama.

The party’s disciplinary sweep extended to other key figures. Bihar BJP MLC Ashok Kumar Agarwal and Katihar Mayor Usha Agarwal were also suspended for ‘anti-party activities.’ Their suspension is reportedly linked to Ashok Agarwal fielding his son, Saurav Agarwal, as a VIP candidate from Katihar against party directives. The Agarwals have been given one week to submit a written reply to the charges.

Singh’s strong condemnation of the law and order situation gained prominence after a violent incident in Mokama where a Jan Suraaj supporter was murdered. This event, which critics labeled a ‘jungle raj’ symptom, led to the suspension of two police officers. Singh’s public criticism underscored concerns about governance and administrative failures.

A record-breaking voter turnout of 67.13% was recorded in the recent polls, with women voters showing unprecedented enthusiasm at 71.6%. This high participation across all 38 districts, with zero repolls, sets the stage for potentially surprising outcomes. The counting process, underway since 8:00 AM, involves extensive measures for transparency, including thousands of counting tables and VVPAT verification.

The primary battle is between the NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM(S), and RLMR, and the Mahagathbandhan, which includes RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI, CPM, and VIP. The NDA campaigned on its development agenda, while the MGB focused on issues like unemployment and social justice.

Exit polls largely favor the NDA retaining power, but the MGB is projecting a significant victory. Concerns have been raised by opposition leaders regarding potential delays or manipulation in the counting process, drawing parallels to past elections and leading to stern warnings and FIRs. Political stalwarts from both alliances have expressed strong confidence in their respective chances, with accusations and counter-accusations flying as the final verdict approaches.

This remarkable participation marks the highest voter turnout recorded in Bihar for any state or national election since 2010, the earliest point for comparable constituency-level data. Political analysts are dissecting this surge, particularly in light of a recent special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls which led to the deletion of 3.07 million electors statewide. Within the 121 constituencies that voted, 1.53 million voters were removed from the rolls, a 3.9% reduction.

Despite these deletions, voter engagement appears undeterred. The total registered electors for these constituencies initially stood at 37.51 million, with approximately 24.3 million voters casting their ballots on Thursday. This turnout surpassed the 21.55 million who voted in the same constituencies during the 2024 general elections, suggesting that the SIR exercise did not diminish the pool of actively participating voters. Historical data from previous elections indicates voter growth rates that are consistent with this year’s surge, even as the growth in registered electors has slowed. Many observers believe deletions primarily affected inactive or duplicate registrations, rather than engaged voters.

Choudhary’s declared assets surpass Rs 11 crore, making him the wealthiest among the key contenders. His wealth is heavily weighted towards immovable properties, estimated at Rs 9.30 crore. Movable assets include substantial investments in bonds, shares, and mutual funds (around ₹32 lakh), bank deposits (approx. ₹27 lakh), and insurance/PPF schemes (₹18.5 lakh). He and his wife also jointly own gold valued at Rs 40 lakh, with a combined cash holding of over Rs 1.7 lakh.

In comparison, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s assets are considerably more modest, totaling approximately Rs 1.64 crore. The majority of his wealth, about Rs 1.48 crore, is in the form of land and property. His liquid assets, including cash and bank deposits, amount to roughly Rs 16.97 lakh.

The financial disclosures offer a glimpse into the personal wealth of those vying for power in Bihar, highlighting significant disparities among the state’s political elite.