Bihar Assembly election schedule to be announced today, EC presser at 4 pm

The Election Commission will announce Bihar Assembly poll dates today at 4 pm; parties want post-Chhath polls for higher voter turnout as Assembly term ends on November 22

The Election Commission (EC) is set to announce the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections on Monday (October 6). The poll authority will hold a press conference at 4 pm to announce the dates. 

 The current 243-member Bihar Assembly’s term is scheduled to end on November 22. 

Political parties are urging the Election Commission to hold elections immediately after the Chhath festival, which falls at the end of October. Parties argue that scheduling the polls after Chhath would allow more voters to participate, as many residents working outside the state return home for the festival. This move could help ensure higher turnout across constituencies, news agency PTI reported. 

The last Bihar Assembly elections in 2020 were conducted in three phases amid the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

New initiatives for Bihar polls to be replicated nationwide, says CEC 

Claiming that the special intensive revision (SIR) “purified” Bihar’s voters’ list after 22 years, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said several new measures are being introduced for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. He added that these initiatives would eventually be applied across the country. 

Addressing a press conference in Patna before concluding his tour of the state, Kumar said, “These initiatives include a new SOP (standard operating procedure) to ensure that Epic cards are delivered to voters within 15 days of registration and a mobile deposit facility at polling booths.”   

  On the scale of the SIR exercise, he said, “We have an ERO (electoral registration officer) in each of the 243 constituencies. They were assisted by 90,207 booth level officers (BLOs) in completing the SIR exercise, which has purified the voters’ list after 22 years." 

 The last intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar was conducted in 2003.