Bihar Election Dates 2020 Announcement: Know Full Schedule, Voting And Result Date

Bihar Election Dates 2020 Announcement: Bihar has to elect a new 243-member assembly as the assembly election term ends on November 29.

Bihar assembly election dates were announced on Friday by the Election Commission. Bihar election will take place in three phases beginning from October 28 . The result for Bihar election will be declared on November 10. Bihar has to elect a new 243-member assembly as its current tenure ends on November 29.  Several political parties had suggested the Commission to defer the elections in the wake of the pandemic. There are around 7 crore 18 lakh voters in the state. It would be the first state to go for Assembly polls ever since the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The voting time has been kept from 7 am - 6 pm instead of 5Pm earlier. However, this will not be applicable to Left-wing affected areas. Here are three phases in which Bihar Assemble elections are to be held: 1st PHASE - 71 ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES, 16 DISTRICTS, 31,000 POLLING STATIONS 2nd PHASE - 94 ASSEMBLY CONSITUENCIES, 17 DISTRICTS, 42,000 POLLING STATIONS 3RD PHASE - 78 ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES, 15 DISTRICTS, 33,500 POLLING STATIONS CHECK DATES FOR BIHAR ASSEMBLY ELECTION: 1st PHASE - October 28, 2020 2nd PHASE - November 3 , 2020 3RD PHASE - November 7, 2020 Results to be declared on 10 November , 2020 The Election Commission is also working on a mobile application to allow candidates to file nominations and also pay their security deposit online, according to reports. This will be the first time that candidates will be allowed to file their nominations online, a move that has been fast-tracked owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Voters aged 80 years and above will have to opt for postal ballot.  There will be requirement of around 1.80 lakh workers during the time of election.  There will be 45 per cent more polling stations this year. The polling time has been increased by one hour but it won’t be not applicable to left-wing  unaffected areas, as per the EC. Corona patients will cast vote in the last hour of voting.  Nodal health officers will also be appointed during the election time, said Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. “Covid-19 patients who're quarantined will be able to cast their vote in the last hour of polling, at their respective polling stations, under the supervision of health authorities. This is beside the option of postal facility already extended to them," as per the EC. Along with the assembly elections, the poll body has also decided to conduct several pending by-elections to fill vacancies in various assemblies along with one in Lok Sabha. The by-polls were put on hold due to the sudden outbreak of Coronavirus and flood in various parts of the country. It is touted to be a high voltage two-way battle in Bihar as the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), under the leadership of Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar is pitched against the Mahagathbandhan of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. What are guidelines for Bihar Assembly Election 2020?

• In the wake of pandemic, the Election Commission (EC) has restricted campaigning to three people for door-to-door visits, allowed only five cars (instead of 10) in a candidate’s convoy for roadshows.
• The candidate will be accompanied by only two people to file the nomination papers. Further, it has limited the number of people who can vote at one polling station to 1,000, down from 1,500.
• Everyone has to wear face masks while carrying out any election-related activity.
• Thermal screening of all persons. Sanitizer, soap and water to be made available at every booth.
• Large halls should be identified as booths and counting centres in order to maintain social distancing norms.
• Nomination form will be made available online. It can be filled online and its print may be taken out for submitting.
• Affidavit can also be filled online, and candidates can deposit security money online along with the option to cash deposit.
• Number of counting tables restricted to 7 in a counting hall. Hence, three to four halls may be taken up for the counting of votes of one constituency.
• Hand gloves shall be provided to all the electors for signing on the voter register and pressing button of EVM for voting, as per the EC guidelines. Other protocols include thermal screening, masks and social distancing on the day of voting.

Meanwhile BJP spokesperson, Shahnawaz Hussain while talking to ABP News said that Nitish Kumar will be re-elected as the Chief Minister of Bihar. BJP and JDU are working are twins brothers. Bihar chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar kicked off the  election campaign across the state and launched big tickets projects reassuring voters that Bihar will emerge as a developed state with the support of the Centre.