Counting day is here, and Bihar arrives at it on the back of a historic mandate. The 2025 Assembly elections have already broken records: the state logged its highest-ever turnout at 66.91 per cent across two phases, with women voters leading the surge at an unprecedented 71.6 per cent, far ahead of the 62.8 per cent turnout among men. Behind this massive exercise stood 8.5 lakh polling staff, 1.4 lakh polling agents for 2,616 candidates, and a three-tier observer system that included general, police and expenditure observers; plus, for the first time, 16 international delegates watching the process. All eyes now shift from polling booths to the counting rooms.
Follow live updates on the Bihar Assembly election results here.
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With that, let’s move on to the top five stories from today’s edition
🚨 Big Story
Investigators now think a chance encounter in 2023 between Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay and Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai was the spark that grew into the JeM-linked module at the heart of the Red Fort blast probe. It began as “ideological bonding” and tightened into a network stretching from Pulwama to Faridabad, with colleagues Umar Nabi, Adeel Majeed Rather and Dr Shaheen Shahid Ansari drawn into the circle. Wagay, police say, is the crucial thread tying the October crackdown on Jaish-related posters in Kashmir and the terror module busted the following month.
Following the trail: Investigators probing the Red Fort car explosion have zeroed in on shops from where raw materials used for the explosives were procured. Sources said these shops are located across Palwal, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Over months, suspects linked to the Faridabad module allegedly bought nearly 300kg of fertiliser from a shop in Nuh’s Pinangwan, with police questioning its owner and several others. Alongside ammonium nitrate, probe teams say the group was simultaneously stockpiling potash from dealers around Dhauj and neighbouring Nuh– a combination that can produce a volatile, potent explosive.
‘Not every J-K resident is terrorist’: J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for “severe punishment” to those involved in the terror module linked to the Red Fort blast, saying that “no religion can justify the killing of innocents with such brutality”. Speaking to reporters in Jammu, he said, “Investigation will continue, but we must remember one thing that not every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is a terrorist, or associated with the terrorists.”
⚡ Only in Express
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With just a few hours to go before Bihar announces its verdict, the top leadership of both the ruling NDA and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan are claiming that the increase in voter turnout has turned out to be in their favour. Bihar saw an overall 66.91% voter turnout over two phases of polling, which is the highest since the first Assembly elections in the state in 1951, and an increase of 9.62 percentage points over 57.29% in 2020. Based on the traditional wisdom that an increase in voter turnout suggests the possibility of a change of government, the huge surge in voting this time is expected to be decisive. Here’s our analysis of the rise in turnout in ten polls since 1957 which led to government change in Bihar five times.
Additionally, here are the five things you need to watch out for in this keen contest between the incumbent NDA and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan.
📌 Must Read
‘A defining moment’: In our Opinion section today, Ashwani Kumar highlights the significance of Bihar Assembly elections 2025, as it reflects the “tensions between welfare and aspiration, migration and belonging, survival and mobility.” He writes: “So, this election is a contest between two moral economies of governance. The incumbents, who consolidated Bihar’s welfare and civic infrastructure, embody continuity, equity and stability. The challengers, who mobilise the language of aspiration, reform, and opportunity.”
As United States President Donald Trump signed a stopgap bill on Wednesday to end the longest shutdown of the US government in history, Udit Misra delves into the meaning of government shutdown, process of passing the US Budget, and what’s in it for India.
⏳ And Finally…
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What’s in a coin flip? South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has been practising his coin tossing skills after Kane Williamson suggested winning the toss as one of the favourable ways to make a mark in India. Sandip G writes: “A favourable coin flip is among the several variables that make the longest format intriguing… The caprices of the pitch and the fervour of the stands; the riffs of its spin orchestra and the tunes of their seam act, the masterfulness of their batsmen and the shifting climes and landscapes, the subcontinent could daunt the touring sides from half a world apart.”
🎧 Lastly, tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the effects of rising air pollution on most vulnerable groups, Rajasthan’s move to roll back its two-child policy for local polls, and the now-busted Pakistan backed grenade attack module in Ludhiana.
