Bihar Elections 2020: Amid Strict Covid-19 Protocols, Bihar Steps Out To Cast Vote For 71 Seats In First Phase

The third most populous state of Bihar is the first in country to go for to polls from October 28 even as the world continues to be under the grip of Covid-19 pandemic.

A policeman stands guard as voters queue up to cast their ballots for Bihar state assembly elections at a polling station in Patna on October 28, 2020. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP)

Patna: Bihar is all set to select its next legislative assembly as around 2.14 crore voters will exercise their franchise today to decided the fate of as many as 1,066 candidates in fray for the first of the three-phased Assembly Elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voters will exercise their franchise in the first phase for which 31,380 polling booths have been set up. The third most populous state of Bihar is the first in country to go to for polls from October 28 even as the world continues to be under the grip of Covid-19 pandemic. While the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government (headed by CM Nitish Kumar) will aim for a comeback, Mahagathbandhan (RJD+Congress+Others) will try its best to end the 15-year long rule of Nitish Kumar.

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Around 6,000 polling booths are being perceived as sensitive and highly-sensitive in Bihar where elections are scheduled for the first phase of assembly polls. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar said that of the total 31,380 booths, as many as 6,000 are sensitive or highly sensitive. Bihar Elections 2020: Voting Time As per the guidelines issued by the Election Commission, voting for first phase will start as usual at 7 am. However, due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the period of voting has been extended by 1 hour until 6 pm, except in some sensitive areas where polling will conclude at 5 pm. In the last one hour of voting, Covid-19 positive patients can exercise their franchise. Bihar Elections 2020: Key Candidates A total of 1,066 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of Bihar elections out of which 114 are female candidates. The first phase polling will decide the fate of nearly half-a-dozen ministers of the Nitish Kumar Cabinet including Krishnandan Verma, Prem Kumar, Jay Kumar Singh, Santosh Kumar Nirala, Vijay Sinha and Ram Narayan Mandal. Among the popular candidates, BJP has fielded 27-year-old Commonwealth Gold Medalist shooter Shreyashi Singh from Jamui seat who will be contesting against RJD’s sitting MLA Vijay Prakash. Divya Prakash, 28-year-old daughter of the former Union Minister, will be making her debut from Tarapur constituency, as the candidate of RJD. Another high-octane political battle is expected in Phase 1 polling from Imamganj seat where former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi is contesting against RJD candidate Uday Narayan Choudhary, former Bihar Assembly Speaker and Dalit leader. In Mokama, don-turned-politician Anant Singh aka 'Chote Sarkar' is contesting on an RJD ticket. Singh had won the 2015 Assembly elections as an independent candidate while contesting against JDU. In the first phase of elections, 29 candidates of the BJP, 35 of the JD (U), six from the Hindustani Awam Morcha are in the fray for the NDA. While in the Grand Alliance, 42 candidates of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), 21 of the Congress and eight of the CPI (ML) are in the fray. Bihar Elections 2020: Key Seats As per information, 27 candidates are in the fray at Gaya, the most from any constituency, while the least number is at Barbigha, with just five candidates. Constituencies such as Arrah, Dinara, Tarari, Bhabua, Dehri, Chainpur, Sherghati, Rajauli (SC), Gobindpur, Banka, Jamalpur and Munger are expected to witness close battles as in 2015 Assembly Polls the victory margins were less than 5,000 votes. The first phase of polling for 71 constituencies includes sensitive and Naxal-hit areas such as Rohtas, Kaimur, Jahanabad, Bhojpur, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda and Munger. Bihar Elections 2020: Covid-19 Protocols While announcing the elections date, the Election Commission also listed out guidelines and protocols in order to contain the spread of deadly Coronavirus in Bihar during the entire election process. Around 7 lakh hand sanitizers, 46 lakh masks and 6 lakh face shields have been arranged for voters who will exercise their franchise. Here's how EC aims at securing voter's health during Bihar Elections 2020: i. Masks will be made mandatory for every voter ii. Temperature checks of all voters will be done at every polling station iii. Polling places will be disinfected at regular intervals iv. No exchange of materials allowed at polling booths to reduce contact v. 7 crore single-use gloves have been arranged for voters vi. Soap and water will be kept at all polling stations for sanitisation All political parties have put their weights behind attracting voters for this phase of polling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J.P. Nadda, Chief minister Nitish Kumar and a dozen union ministers appealed to the people to vote in favour of the NDA. Even the Opposition (RJD + Congress + others) has been aggressively attacking CM Nitish Kumar and his 15 years of 'Sushashan' governance. Both Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi have launched fierce campaigns against JDU and BJP alleging that Bihar has suffered a lot under NDA regime. In Bihar, elections are being held in three phases for 243 assembly seats. The first phase will be held on October 28 on 71 seats. The counting of votes will be held on November 10.