NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party’s (LJP) supremo Ram Vilas Paswan has written to the Election Commission against holding the Bihar Assembly polls in October-November, when they are due, saying it will otherwise amount to deliberately “pushing people towards death” due to coronavirus pandemic and considering the flood situation.

The party has said resources should now be focussed on curbing the COVID-19 crisis and tackling floods in the state and not holding the polls. The LJP has said that the coronavirus pandemic has already acquired dangerous proportions and experts believe that it is likely to be more severe by October-November, as it argued that the priority now should be saving people’s lives and not holding the elections.

The LJP’s stand on the elections is opposite to that of the JD(U), which also is a BJP ally, as the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led party has spoken in favour of holding them on time and has been holding organisational meetings in preparation. The BJP has maintained that any decision on the poll schedule is the EC’s prerogative, while the main opposition RJD has in past called for postponing the elections, citing the coronavirus threat.

The EC has sought views of all parties on the elections. The LJP said endangering lives of a big population would be absolutely “improper” for holding the elections and noted that over 35, 000 people in the country, including 280 in Bihar, have died of COVID-19 so far. “Holding the polls in such circumstances will amount to deliberately pushing people towards death,” it told the EC. A big part of Bihar is also severely affected by floods, it added.