EC to announce Bihar assembly election dates today

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Bihar legislative assembly polls on Monday.

The poll authority has convened a press conference at 4 pm.

Bihar elections will see a direct fight between two principal alliances -- the BJP, JDU-led National Democratic Alliance, which is in power, and the opposition Mahagathbandhan consisting of RJD, Congress and Left parties.

While the Congress-led opposition in Bihar has tried to play up the Bihar special intensive revision issue as the main poll plank, the ruling alliance is working to recall the erstwhile RJD rule in the state as "jungle raaj."

Both sides are wooing women, who form a decisive electoral segment now.

Nearly 69 lakh votes have been deleted from the June electoral rolls of the state after SIR, which saw multiple legal challenges but was not stayed by the apex court.

About 22 lakh new votes have been added.

The Bihar election will be a test of Rahul Gandhi's latest vote theft campaign, for which he also undertook a Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar.

The ruling alliance will go into the polls under the leadership of incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JDU.

The NDA has recently announced a special cash incentive for Bihar women, putting Rs 10,000 in the accounts of 75 lakh women voters, who form 22% of the entire women electorate of the state.

The scheme encourages women to set up small businesses with this seed money, promising to give them top-ups up to Rs 2 lakh if they show promise.