Bihar polls to be held in two phases, Nov 14 decision day

Roughly 74.3 million people across 243 constituencies in Bihar will vote in assembly polls across two phases on November 6 and 11, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Monday, marking the beginning of an electoral contest that will have strong ramifications on national politics.

- Dhrubo Jyoti

Elections in India's third-most populous province are usually chaotic, steeped in caste calculations, and rested on a razor’s edge five years ago - the difference between the two major coalitions was less than 12,000 votes - even as questions of aspiration, welfare and jobs figure high up in one of the