Patna , Bihar is preparing to conduct its next panchayat elections in early 2026, with approximately 246,000 elected positions across the state’s three-tier rural local bodies set to be contested, officials familiar with the matter have confirmed.
For the first time in the state’s local-body polls, the Bihar State Election Commission (SEC) plans to replace traditional ballot papers with multi-purpose electronic voting machines (EVMs). Each machine will feature six ballot units and one control unit, enabling voters to cast ballots for all contested posts – from gram panchayat member and mukhiya to panchayat samiti and zila parishad representatives – through a single device.
The scale of the exercise is substantial. The state’s panchayati raj institutions comprise around 1.09 lakh posts for ward members and mukhiyas in roughly 8,066 gram panchayats, 11,000 positions in panchayat samitis, and 8,066 posts in zila parishads, in addition to the village-level sarpanch roles. In total, the SEC estimates that over 246,000 representatives will be elected.
Sources indicate that the commission has already placed orders for approximately 320,000 multi-purpose EVMs with the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and is in the process of procuring additional units. Delivery is expected well ahead of the polls, which are likely to be held in ten phases, mirroring the approach taken in the 2021 panchayat elections.
Reservation of seats for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, extremely backward classes, other backward classes, and women will be recalculated based on the latest population data and rotated where required, in line with constitutional provisions. Under current rules, 50 per cent of seats are reserved for women across all tiers, while 20 per cent are set aside for extremely backward classes.
The shift to multi-purpose EVMs is intended to streamline logistics and reduce the reliance on paper ballots, which were used alongside limited EVM deployment in previous cycles. State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad described the new machines as “technically more advanced and easier to transport,” adding that preparatory work for reservation demarcation and EVM deployment is already under way.
The five-year term of the current panchayati raj institutions expires in December 2026, providing the SEC with a narrow window to complete the extensive electoral exercise across one of India’s most populous and politically significant states.
