Congress welcomes announcement of Bihar Assembly elections schedule

The Congress on Friday welcomed the announcement of the schedule of the Bihar assembly election and said the dates will bring freedom from misgovernance in the state which is under BJP-JD(U) rule.

Congress leader and in-charge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil said people of the state are eagerly waiting to bring about change as they are fed up of the false promises by the BJP and JD(U).

He said the Congress will contest these polls together with other like-minded parties and ensure that there is no division of anti-establishment votes in the state.

"The Election Commission has announced the dates for Bihar assembly elections. These dates will bring freedom from misgovernance at the hands of the BJP and JD(U). People of the state are fed up of false promises and want a change in governance in Bihar, " he told reporters.

"We are in touch and in constant talks with like-minded parties in Bihar and will contest these polls together to ensure there is no division of anti-establishment votes," he said.

Gohil claimed that there is no coordination between the BJP and the JD(U) and due to this people of the state are suffering for the last 15 years and now want a change.

He said the Congress will contest with its like-minded parties and is chalking out the seat-sharing formula.

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 blocs 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.