3-phase Bihar poll likely from first week of November

The Bihar Assembly elections are likely to be held in three phases, beginning from the first week of November, as per the draft proposal that the Election Commission (EC) is learnt to have prepared.

Sources said the EC was likely to announce the schedule of the much-awaited Bihar Assembly elections in the first week of October. "The elections are likely to kick-start around a week after the Chhath Pooja celebrations, which will be over on October 28, and expected to be wrapped up in three phases, as per the EC's proposed plan," sources said.

The tenure of the 243-member Bihar Assembly ends on November 22, and the elections have to be completed before that. In 2020 also, the Bihar elections were held in three phases, i.e. October 28, November 3 and November 7. The results were declared on November 10.

EVMs to have coloured photos of candidates

Starting from the Bihar elections, the EVMs will now have coloured photographs of candidates. The candidate’s face will occupy three-fourths of the photo space on the EVM ballot paper for better visibility

Advertisement

As per the EC, serial numbers of candidates/NOTA option will also be printed in the international form of Indian numerals. The font size will be 30 and in bold for clarity. For the poll, pink-coloured paper of specified 'RGB values' will be used

Also, as per the schedule of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, the final voters' list will be published on September 30, after all claims and objections received by the EC for inclusion and exclusion of names are addressed.

EC sources had earlier said the electoral rolls would be ready after the last date for filing of nominations for the forthcoming Assembly elections, as by that time, all new voters, who would turn 18, would also have been included in the list.

The much-anticipated Assembly elections in Bihar are being held under the shadow of the controversy which erupted after the EC decided to conduct the SIR in the state. The poll panel had stated that the exercise was necessary as to ensure that no eligible citizen was left out and at the same time, no ineligible person was included in the electoral rolls, which were last updated in Bihar in 2003.

Opposing the SIR, the Congress-led Opposition has accused the EC of being in cahoots with the BJP-led Centre to get names of poor, Dalit and migrant voters deleted to benefit the ruling dispensation. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also undertook a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to generate awareness among the people regarding what the party has alleged as "vote theft".

On August 31, the Congress even stated that it had filed 89 lakh complaints with the EC and possessed stamped receipts as evidence, contrary to the EC’s claims that there were “zero complaints” against the SIR in Bihar by the party. ECI sources, however, had informed that the complaints were not sent to it in proper format and therefore were not recorded.

By September 1, which was the last date for filing claims and objections against the electoral rolls in Bihar by common voters and political parties, more than two lakh voters had given applications for exclusion of names. The CPI(ML) (Liberation) had given 103 applications for exclusion of names from the rolls.

Even the ruling BJP, on the last day, had submitted 16 applications for exclusion of names from Bihar's electoral rolls while the RJD had given 10 applications for inclusion of names.