Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 Dates Highlights:
Due to the pandemic, the 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 and said only two people will accompany the candidate to file her nomination papers. Further, it has limited the number of people who can vote at one polling station to 1,000, down from 1,500. Temperature checks, masks and social distancing will be compulsory on the day of voting.
Explained: What the EC has said on voting during the Covid-19 pandemic
Ahead of the elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) — which leads the opposition alliance in Bihar — had said the imposition of so many "barriers" may impact "wholesome participation of voters" in the "festival of democracy".
RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha had told The Indian Express, "What if you end up having 30 per cent voting? My worry is that. We all love to call it the festival of democracy. But would we enjoy a festival if there are so many barriers, so many don’ts? There are less dos and more don’ts in this (guidelines) and that will impact the wholesome participation of voters."
The Congress, meanwhile, had said the EC's guidelines for campaigning and voting "fall far short" for the smooth conduct of elections in "free, non-partisan and fair fashion" without giving undue advantage to the ruling party.
On the NDA alliance, sources told The Indian Express the Janata Dal (United) wanted to contest 115 seats while leaving 128 seats for the BJP, which should accommodate the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) from its quota. "Let the BJP accommodate LJP and we will take care of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) from our share," a JD(U) source said.
Also read | No clarity on seat-sharing, differences over smaller allies emerging hurdle for Opposition alliance
The Election Commission has announced a list of guidelines that will be followed during the Bihar elections to ensure safety from Covid-19. Here are some of the measures that will be taken:
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The Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020 will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes and the results will be declared on November 10.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 3
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 2
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 1
Three phases of voting in Bihar elections this year. First phase will see 71 Assembly constituencies in 16 districts will go to polls; second phase will see 94 constituencies in 17 districts; third phase will see 78 constitutencies in 15 districts. The dates haven't been announced yet as CEC Arora is 'keeping the suspense'.
"Elections entail large scale deployment of security forces. We have tried to minimise their movement over long distance," says CEC Arora. This is due to their fatigue as well as Covid-19, he added. "We have reduced the number of phases due to this," says Arora.
"Adverse use of social media has emerged a challenged in the recent times. Digital platforms are dealth with sternly. We would like to make it clear that anyone who makes mysterious use of social media for electoral purpose shall face the consequences under the law," says CEC Sunil Arora.
Election officials visited Bihar this month to see preparations for the Bihar elections. They reported the infrastructure is in place to hold elections to the state of Bihar, says CEC Sunil Arora. He also says all polling stations will be located on the ground floor to ensure comfortable experience of persons with disabilities.
All elections meetings will be monitored by election and health officials. Public gatherings can take place following social distancing norms. The District Election Officers will decide on the number of people allowed in such gatherings, says CEC Sunil Arora.
Over 7 lakh hand sanitiser units, about 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh units of faces-shields, 23 lakh (pairs of) hand gloves have been arranged for the Bihar elections 2020. For voters specifically, 7.2 crore single-use hand gloves arranged, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.
Nomination form for Bihar Assembly Elections is now available online, apart from offline. Security money can also be transferred in online mode, says CEC Sunil Arora. The number of people who will accompany the candidate to file nomination papers is restricted to two people. For campaigning, door-to-door campaigning limit is three persons; convoys will be restricted to five cars.
Apart from postal facility, those with Covid-19 who are quarantined can vote in the last hour of voting. Polling time has been increased by one hour, and will not be held from 7 am to 6 pm.
Postal ballots has been extended to people above the age of 80 years. Whereever required and asked for, the facility will be extended. Further, voters with disabilities, and who are suffering with Covid-19, will be taken care of, says CEC Sunil Arora.
The total electors in Bihar in 2015 was 67 million. The number has increased to 72 million, says CEC Sunil Arora.
CEC Sunil Arora says, "We are all aware that the term of Assembly in Bihar is expiring on November 29. Bihar Assembly holds a strength of 243 members of which 38 seats are reserved for SCs and two for STs."
The EC has revisted the instructions for holding elections due to Covid-19. The first major step that was taken to reduce the number of electors at each polling station. This has reduced from 1,500 to 1,000, says CEC Arora. This means, more than a lakh polling stations, up from 65,337 in 2015.
The CEC is now announcing election dates for Bihar, the largest state in India with 72.9 million electors in the state. CEC Arora reiterates this is the biggest election in the world amid Covid-19.
CEC Arora says, "As the pandemic spread across the world, all election officials first thought it was needed to postpone elections and hold them in a more condusive environment. More than 70 countries postponed their elections. However, as days passed, many countries took the courageous decisions to go ahead with their election schedules with safety norms."
Chief Election Commission Sunil Arora is addressing the press along with Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Sushil Kumar. Stay tuned, the dates are about to be announced. "The world has changed significantly, and certainly not for the better. The uncertainty and devastation caused by Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work. It has forced a new normal," says Arora.
Due to the pandemic, the 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 and said only two people will accompany the candidate to file her nomination papers. Further, it has limited the number of people who can vote at one polling station to 1,000, down from 1,500. Temperature checks, masks and social distancing will be compulsory on the day of voting. Read our explainer on what the EC has said on elections amid Covid-19
Several countries like South Korea and Singapore have held elections amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, earlier this week, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the Bihar polls were likely to be the largest elections conducted during the pandemic given there are with 72.9 million electors in the state. He also said elections in India posed formidable challenges on account of the large electorate, geographical and linguistic diversity and differing climatic conditions. Read more here
Just ahead of the Election Commission's press conference, the Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking to postpone the Bihar Assembly elections due to Covid-19. A three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M R Shah was hearing a petition filed by one Ajay Kumar. "We can't permit everybody to go to the Election Commission. We can only permit you to withdraw the petition," the bench said, reported PTI.
Hello, and welcome to our live blog. The Election Commission will hold a press conference at 12.30 pm to announce the dates of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020. Along with the Bihar schedule, the EC is also likely to announce the schedule for by-election to one Lok Sabha and 64 Assembly seats. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates