Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout during the recent Assembly elections held in 2025, with women voters leading the charge. The overall turnout reached 66.91%, but women registered 71.6% participation, exceeding men by 8.8 percentage points. Male turnout stood at 62.8%. For the first time in Bihar's history, women outnumbered men in absolute voting numbers, with approximately 2.52 crore women casting ballots compared to 2.47 crore men—a difference of around 5 lakh votes. This achievement follows a pattern established since 2005 when women began consistently outpacing men in Assembly elections. The trend strengthened significantly after governance initiatives focused on women's welfare. Despite a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls that deleted more women voters than men, female participation continued its upward trajectory, marking a milestone in Bihar's electoral history.
Women's Growing Electoral Dominance Since 2005
Women have consistently outvoted men in Bihar's last five Assembly elections, with their participation growing faster than men's. This pattern began in 2005 when Nitish Kumar first became Chief Minister. By the 2015 elections, the gender gap in turnout widened to 7.16 percentage points, the highest until the current polls. Before 2010, men traditionally voted in larger numbers, with the gap favouring them reaching as high as 23.17 percentage points in 1977 during the post-Emergency elections. The shift began post-1985 when the difference started narrowing, ultimately reversing in favour of women two decades later, reflecting changing social dynamics and targeted welfare schemes.
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