Bihar Legislative Council polls to be held tomorrow: EC

The Election Commission (EC) today said polls to the 24 seats of Bihar Legislative Council will be held tomorrow as scheduled in the light of the Supreme Court refusing to stay the polls and accepting EC's suggestion that tenure of the elected members be decided by draw of lots.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, R Lakshmanan said, "We are holding the MLC elections as per schedule tomorrow. The EC is issuing a direction to all candidates that their tenure will be affected by whatever decision the SC takes in the case."
Lakshmanan said the SC order was an interim one and the final decision could impact the candidates elected in these polls.

Hearing on the Special Leave Petitions filed in the case by the EC, the Bihar Legislative Council has been fixed after six weeks.
The 24 seats were to be filled by elected members of local bodies like municipal corporations, municipalities, panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads.
One-third of the members elected used to retire every two years after serving a six-year term.
The impasse happened as no elections to local bodies were conducted between 1978 and 2002. The seats fell vacant as the tenure of members got over. Nobody could be elected in their place as there were no elected representatives in local bodies. The 24 Council seats remained vacant.

Elections to local bodies resumed in 2003 and members for these Council seats were also duly elected in July 2003 with tenure of six years as there were no laws curtailing their term.