Bihar elections to be held in three phases; counting on November 10

Voting for Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7 in one of the biggest elections globally during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by counting of votes on November 10, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
 

The ruling NDA in the politically-crucial state will face a challenge from the RJD-Congress alliance, though uncertainty still prevails over the composition of the two main political blocks and about a number of smaller parties as to which way they will go in this battle of alliances.
 

While the BJP-JD(U) alliance and the Congress-RJD combine are firmly in place, a key NDA member LJP and some opposition parties like former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha-headed RLSP have kept their options open. The announcement of dates by the Election Commission is likely to speed up the process of political realignment in the coming days.

 

In the outgoing assembly, the RJD has 80 members while the JD (U) has 69. The BJP has 54 seats, Congress has 25, while the remaining seats in the 243-member assembly are held by other parties.
 

The NDA has already announced that JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be its face for the top job in the state, which has an estimated 7.29 crore voters. The BJP said it is fully prepared for the elections and exuded confidence that it will form the government with a three-fourth majority, while Kumar and his party also welcomed the election dates and said it was confident of a win. The RJD, on the other hand, asserted that people of the state have made up their mind for a change of government.
 

Political activities have already intensified in the state with all major parties having stepped up their efforts in the last few months, despite the pandemic situation, while a number of projects have been announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself for the state in recent weeks.
 

Announcing the poll schedule for the 243-member Bihar assembly, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said voting will begin as usual at 7 am but the period will be extended by one hour until 6 pm, except in the Left Wing Extremism affected areas, so that Covid-19 patients can vote in the last hour of the day.
 

"The world has changed significantly since the last major election in our country, which was held for Delhi assembly, and the Covid-19 pandemic has forced a new normal in every aspect of our life.