The phases have been reduced due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The term of the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly comes to an end on November 29.
Bihar is the first state of the country to go for Assembly polls ever since the beginning of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. As per Election Commission, the first phase election will take place in 16 districts on 71 seats, second phase election will be held in 17 districts on 94 seats and third phase polling will be held in 15 districts on 78 seats.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 Schedule
Last date of nomination in Bihar election: October 16
Scrutiny of nomination: October 9
Last date to withdraw candidatures: October 12
Bihar Election date: October 28 (Phase 1), November 3 (Phase 2) and November 7 (Phase 3)
Bihar election result date: November 10
Bihar Elections 2020 Guidelines
Keeping in mind the Covid-19 outbreak, the Election Commission also announced various SOPs which shall be strictly followed to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. The poll body said that due to Covid-19, polling time has been increased by 1 hour. Electorates will be able to cast their votes between 7 am to 6 pm.
EC also said that only 1,000 voters allowed to cast vote at a polling booth in the state. The EC said 7 lakh hand sanitisers, 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh face shields and 23 lakh pairs of hand gloves have been arranged for Bihar polls.
Bihar is the first state of the country to go for Assembly polls ever since the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The poll body also stated that not more than 2 vehicles to be used by the candidate while on his/her way to file nomination. For candidates, the Election Commission said that it will be mandatory to adhere to social distancing norms while campaigning.
Even door-to-door campaigning have been restricted by the poll commission. It also said that electorates who are Covid-19 positive will vote in the last hour of polling. Besides, postal ballot facility will be provided wherever required and requested.
The poll body also announced the schedule for the by-election to one Lok Sabha and 64 assembly seats spread across 15 states. The bypoll to the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, which was pending due to Covid-19 outbreak, will now take place on
SC Refuses To Postpone Bihar Elections 2020
Earlier in the day, Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking to postpone the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M R Shah also refused to grant liberty to the petitioner to give representation to the Election Commission in this regard.
With cracks appearing both in Mahagathbandhan and in National Democratic Alliance (NDA), major players in the coalition like BJP, JDU, and RJD are burning the midnight oil to keep their house in order apart from bringing disgruntled elements from opposite camps to their side.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2015: A Recap
In the previous Assembly elections held in the state in 2015, JDU, RJD and Congress had fought the elections together under the 'Mahagathbandhan'. On the other hand, BJP led NDA had fought the elections with Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and other allies.
RJD bagged 80 seats to emerged as the single largest party in the 2015 Assembly elections, followed by JDU (71), and BJP (53). However, BJP got the largest vote share of 24.42 per cent, followed by RJD with 18.35 per cent and JDU with 16.83 per cent.
After the polls, however, a rift emerged between JDU and the RJD in 2017, leading to CM Nitish Kumar rejoining ties with the BJP-led NDA to retain power in Bihar.
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