Elections to be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7; Result to be Declared on November 10
Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
The Assembly elections in Bihar will be held in three phases beginning October 28th. The counting will take place on 10th November.
He said, 71 assembly constituencies will go to poll in the first phase on 28th October, 94 seats in the second phase on 3rd November and 78 seats in the third phase on 7th November.
Election Commission has informed that it will decide on bypolls for 1 Lok Sabha and 64 Assembly Seats after a review meeting on 29th September on issues raised by some states on poll timing.
Announcing the poll schedule for the 243-member Bihar assembly, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that it will be one of the biggest elections globally to be held during the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
Compared to 2015 where there were 65,337 polling booths, there are more than a lakh polling booths this time around, and not more than 1,000 voters per booth will be allowed compared to 1,500 earlier. Bihar has recorded an electorate count of 7.29 crore for these polls.
He said the number of phases have been reduced this time around. “We tried to make sure there is minimum travel of security personnel from other parts of the country to cut down infection risk. Also period of election and phases shortened. We have also kept festival season in mind before finalising the dates,” he said.
Model Code of Conduct comes into force
Announcing the poll schedule Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect with the declaration of elections.
Mr. Arora said the number of phases for 243-member Bihar Assembly polls has been reduced keeping in mind security arrangements and festive season. He informed that the voting time has been extended by one hour till 6 PM and COVID-19 patients will vote in the last hour of the day. He said COVID-19 pandemic has forced a new normal in all aspects of life and Bihar Assembly elections will be held under new security protocols.
Mr. Arora informed that seven lakh hand sanitiser points, 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh face shields, 23 lakh pairs of hand gloves have been arranged in the wake of COVID pandemic. He added that social distancing norms will need to be followed at public gatherings and other activities during the election campaign.
The Chief Election Commissioner said the Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective implementation of MCC guidelines. He added that anyone who indulges in misuse of social media with respect to elections will have to face consequences under the law.
