Bihar 2020 election: The term of the 243-member Bihar assembly ends on 29 November.
New Delhi:
The assembly election in Bihar will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7 and the results will be announced on November 10, the Electoral Commission said today.
This is the first major election to be held amid the global coronavirus crisis. Bihar has to elect a new assembly of 243 members before November 29.
Chief Elections Commissioner Sunil Arora called it a “historic election” and the largest in the world at the time of the coronavirus. There will be an additional voting hour, separate voting for Covid patients, suspects and those in quarantine, and there will be no physical contact during the campaign, he announced.
Prime Minister Nitish Kumar, who leads a coalition with the BJP, will fight for a fourth term in these polls, with the RJD opposition of jailed former Chief Minister Lalu Yadav and Congress challenging him.
Here are the live updates on the announcement of the dates of the Bihar Assembly elections:
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which had urged the EC not to hold elections to the Bihar assembly during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, welcomed its calendar announcement on Friday and said polls will write a “new story. “of improvement in the state.
LJP Chairman Chirag Paswan said the state elections will provide the party with an opportunity to present to the people Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a “developed Bihar” and the work of his sponsor Ram Vilas Paswan in the state for five decades.
In his tweets, he also struck an emotional note, saying that his father remains in the hospital and misses his words of guidance.
Chirag Paswan said that for the first time in the last five decades, his father will not be present in Bihar during the elections and expressed his confidence that he will be able to connect with the people of the state digitally.
Bihar’s Chief Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are fully prepared for the upcoming state elections which will be held in three phases with elections starting on 28 October.
The chief deputy minister said the votes will be appealed based on the work done by the central and state governments.
“The BJP and the NDA are fully prepared. Those who wanted to postpone the elections are forced to welcome. PM-CM will appeal to vote on the basis of the face and work of Center and State. # BiharElections2020,” he said in a tweet.
Political parties in Bihar on Friday welcomed the three-phase election calendar announced by the
Electoral Commission with the two major electoral alliances predicting their victory in the elections.
The voting panel announced that voting for the first, second and third and final phases will take place on October 28, November 3 and 7 respectively, while the vote count will take place on November 10.
Welcoming the election calendar statement, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav stated that the people of the state have already made a decision on a change of government in the state.
“The people of Bihar have decided to oust Nitish Kumar from power because they feel cheated by the Prime Minister who left the 2015 mandate NDA will be defeated in the elections and our Grand Alliance will come to power after the elections, Mr. Tejashwi said.
No party in the “Mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) coalition is willing to accept Tejashwi Yadav as its leader and the alliance is likely to be broken before the Bihar Assembly elections, said Ram Kripal Yadav, deputy of the Bihar BJP .
Union Minister and Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said he was confident that the NDA would win a majority in the elections.
“We are confident that the NDA will get the majority and Nitish Kumar ji will once again be the prime minister,” Prasad told the ANI news agency.
▪️Number of people accompanying a candidate for the nomination presentation restricted to 2
▪️Vehicle number restricted to 2
▪️ Door-to-door campaign restricted to five, including the candidate
▪️ Health and safety protocol to follow#BiharElectionspic.twitter.com/kApt5TuZDU
– GDP India (@PIB_India) September 25, 2020
The Election Commission has made special arrangements to protect its employees from contracting coronavirus during their electoral duty in Bihar, where assembly elections will take place next month.
The voting body has provided a small kit containing N 95 mask, disinfectant and gloves to protect poll service employees in the state. The package will also contain a security key fob to prevent the use of hands when pressing buttons.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the announcement of the election dates.
“We welcome the decision of the Electoral Commission. We are sure that the people of Bihar want to get rid of this government. JD (U) does not matter in the elections, our fight is against the BJP,” Yadav said according to the news. ANI agency.
Phase 1
Issue date of the Gazette notification: October 1
Last nomination date: October 8
Nomination scrutiny date: October 9
Last date of withdrawal of candidatures: October 12
Survey Date: October 28
Counting date: November 10 (for all phases)
Phase 2
Issue date of the Gazette notification: October 9
Last nomination date: October 16
Date of scrutiny of nominations: October 17
Last date of withdrawal of candidatures: October 19
Survey Date: November 3
Count date: November 10
Phase 3
Issue date of the Gazette notification: October 13
Last nomination date: October 20
Date of scrutiny of nominations: October 21
Last date of withdrawal of candidatures: October 23
Survey Date: November 7
Count date: November 10
Bihar Polls: Changes to World’s First Biggest Election Amid PandemicThe Bihar election next month will be the world’s largest voting exercise to take place in the time of the coronavirus. The Election Commission announced a series of steps to protect against infection during campaigning and voting. The head of the Electoral Commission, Sunil Arora, said this was part of the “new normal” in the global pandemic.
Phase 1 – 71 electoral districts – 16 districts – (31,000 polling stations)
Phase 2 – 94 electoral districts – 17 districts (42,000 polling stations)
Phase 3 – 78 electoral districts – 15 districts (33,500 polling stations)
Look | “Social media platforms are expected to make the proper arrangements to guard against misuse of their platforms and establish strict protocols to handle these issues when they arise” – Sunil Arora, Chief Elections Commissioner of India #BiharElectionspic.twitter.com/r770iatE3F
– NDTV (@ndtv) September 25, 2020
The model code of conduct goes into effect immediately in Bihar.
- All face-to-face meetings have been reduced to electoral meetings and campaigns.
- All polling stations will have gloves, masks, disinfectants, soap and all the medical equipment necessary to deal with medical situations.
- All polling stations will be on the ground floor to facilitate access for people with disabilities. Transportation, wheelchairs and other supplies will also be available.
Covid patients who are in quarantine will be able to cast their vote on the last day of voting, in their respective polling stations, under the supervision of the health authorities. This is in addition to the postal service option that has already been extended to them: CEC Sunil Arora
“All security protocols must be strictly followed as established by the Ministry of Health. At all times this will be supervised by both the electoral authority and the health authorities,” says Chief Elections Commissioner Sunil Arora.
For the Bihar polls, voting hours have been increased by one hour. The voting will then take place from 7 am to 6 pm, instead of the usual 5 pm: Chief Elections Commissioner
- This will involve great logistics and manpower.
- The next assembly in Bihar must be constituted before November 29, so the calendar of elections is announced.
- To maintain a safe distance between voters, there will be more polling places.
- Voting booths will have 1,000 voters instead of 1,500
- COVID-19 has changed the way we do everything. At the beginning of the pandemic, many elections were postponed. So far, 70 countries have postponed elections. But now there is a new normal, taking precautions and following all safety rules.
- The democratic process that involves the people must continue. Slowly, across the world, steps are being taken to hold elections.
- We are here to announce the dates of the Bihar elections. It is one of the most important elections in one of the largest states of India in the immediate future.
The mandate of the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly ends on 29 November.
The EC has been running a parallel exercise on what to do with Bihar and bilateral polls in a couple of states.
Chief Elections Commissioner Sunil Arora is holding a press conference to announce the dates of the Bihar assembly elections.
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