The ruling and the Opposition parties in Bihar on Saturday demanded the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the Assembly polls be held immediately after the Chhath Puja to ensure increased voter participation. Chhat, an important festival in Bihar, celebrated six days after Diwali, will be observed on October 25-28 this year.
They also suggested holding election in one or two phases if possible. In 2020, Assembly polls were conducted in three phases.
The Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and the two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, took stock of the poll preparedness for the ensuing Bihar Assembly election during their visit to Patna on Saturday. According to sources, the ECI sought feedback on voters’ list discrepancies, polling booths facilities and EVM security.
The team also interacted with representatives of recognised political parties and sought their suggestions.
On Sunday, the ECI team is likely to meet the nodal officers of the enforcement agencies, namely the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, Custom and Excise and other top Bihar officials including the Chief Secretary, the DGP and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
“We urged the ECI to hold Assembly elections in a single phase. It is possible. The State has no law and problem nor is it in throes of Naxal violence. If elections could be held in a single phase in Maharashtra, why not here?” JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said.
“Another point that we stressed on before the EC is that festivals like Diwali and Chhath are approaching. A large number of people who eke out a living in other parts of the country, visit their home state during this time. So, the poll schedule be drawn in such a manner that migrants could cast their vote before returning to their places of work,” he added.
A delegation of BJP led by state unit president Dilip Jaiswal requested the ECI team to ensure that faces of women turning up at booths in burqas were tallied with voter cards.
From the Opposition camp, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), CPI-ML (Liberation) and other Left parties stressed on holding the polls in two phases even as they sought information from ECI about the 3.66 lakh voters, whose names were deleted from the final updated electoral rolls published on September 30 after the Special Intensive Revision.
Following the interaction with political parties, the poll body held a detailed review with Commissioners, IGs, DIGs, DEOs, SSPs, SPs on every aspect of election planning, EVM management, logistics, polling station rationalisation and infrastructure, training of election staff, seizures, law and order, voter awareness and outreach activities.
