CEC Gyanesh reviews poll preparedness in Bihar: EC instructs all DEOs, SPs to act with impartiality, ensure prompt resolution of complaints

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, held a detailed and comprehensive review of the poll preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly Elections in Bihar in Patna on Saturday. The Election Commission officials are on a two-day review visit to the state.

According to an official release, the ECI, today, interacted with the representatives of recognized national and state political parties namely Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, National People's Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party and sought their suggestions. CEC Kumar termed political parties as a "significant stakeholder of a strong democracy" and called upon them to fully participate at every stage of the election process by appointing their polling and counting agents.

The Commission also encouraged the political parties to wholeheartedly celebrate elections in a festive spirit along with the voters. According to the commission, the political parties thanked the poll body for successfully completing the historic Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and purifying the electoral rolls and reiterated their faith and trust in the electoral processes.

"To maximise the participation of voters in the elections, Political Parties suggested that the elections be scheduled immediately after the Chhath festival and for the elections to be completed in as few phases as possible", the official statement from the EC read. The Political Parties particularly praised the Commission's recent initiatives such as limiting the maximum number of voters per Polling Station to 1,200, ensuring that the counting of Postal Ballot votes is completed before the penultimate round of EVM counting and ensuring that Form 17C is distributed by the Presiding Officer (PrO) to the Political Party agents before leaving the Polling Station, the commission mentioned.

All the Political Parties expressed complete faith in the Commission and in its fulfilment of the mandate to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. Following the interaction with the Political Parties, the Commission held a detailed review with Commissioners, IGs, DIGs, DEOs, SSPs, SPs on every aspect of election planning, EVM management, logistics, polling station rationalisation and infrastructure, training of election staff, seizures, law and order, voter awareness and outreach activities.

The Commission also gave detailed instructions to the officers based on the suggestions given by the Political Parties. "The Commission directed all DEOs, SPs, state administration to act with complete impartiality and ensure prompt resolution of the complaints and grievances of the political parties. All DEOs and SPs were instructed to monitor social media for fake news and to respond swiftly with appropriate legal action, if required," the release stated.

After the meeting of the ECI delegation, Janata Dal (United) Bihar president Umesh Singh Kushwaha on Saturday said that their party has urged the Election Commission to conduct elections in a single phase and just right after Chhath Puja so that people living outside the state can also cast their vote. Speaking to reporters, Kushwaha said, "Our party has suggested that the elections should be held in a single phase. To allow voters arriving from outside during Chhath Parv to cast their votes, the elections should be scheduled immediately after Chhath Parv..."

However, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram-Vilas) urged the poll panel to conduct elections in two phases and requested the availability of basic amenities at all polling booths, said the party's National General Secretary Shahnawaz Ahmed Kaifee. Speaking to reporters, LJP(RV) National General Secretary Kaifee said, "We demanded that elections in Bihar should be conducted in two phases and there should be arrangements of security forces at every booth. Third, the Election Commission should ensure that senior citizens and differently abled individuals have their votes...Fourth, the Election Commission should provide toilets, water, and electricity at all polling booths...It (SIR) is not a topic of discussion now."

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation leader Kumar Parvez said that they conveyed to the poll body that elections should be held in two phases. He further said that the party wants the Election Commission (EC) to clarify the final SIR list and provide details on the 3,66,000 voters whose names were deleted, including reasons for removal.

Speaking to reporters, Kumar Parvez said, "Our first demand is that the EC clarify the final SIR list... We also insist the EC publish details of the 366,000 voters whose names were deleted, including reasons and basis for removal. Our second demand relates to the new voters who have been added... We asked the EC to identify incorrectly deleted names, individuals who filed objections, and the number of names added. It's unclear why the deducted and new names are combined, as both are needed for Form 6. Please provide separate lists..." The CPI-ML leader said that the party has also sought clarification on the sex ratio of Bihar as mentioned in the voter list following completion of SIR.

Parvez said, "Our third demand was to understand the sex ratio in Bihar. The census shows 914 women per 1,000 men, but the SIR lists 892. We asked the EC if the number of women had fallen or if more names had been deleted. EC said they will investigate...""We prioritised that our polling agents receive Form 17C and stated elections should be in two phases... We requested booths in poor Dalit and minority areas, using mobile booths if needed. We also demanded an end to appointing Presiding Officers from dominant castes instead of weaker communities..." he added. The Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has requested the Election Commission of India to have robust checks ensuring that only "genuine voters" are exercising their franchise in the upcoming assembly elections, as the party called for the identity of 'parda nasheen' (women under burqa) to be confirmed at the polling booths.

"We have also requested that voters, whether women or men, especially women, should get proper security. Also, the 'parda nasheen' women should also get their faces matched with the voter ID photo through women so that only genuine voters can get their right to vote", Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal told reporters after the meeting. The party has also requested the poll body to conduct elections in only one or two phases, citing the disruption to institutions and the increasing expenditure to candidates and political parties.

"We have requested that the elections happen in one or two phases, because with more phases, expenditure gets increased and the institutions also get disrupted, so that is why a long process should not happen", Jaiswal said. The Election Commission is yet to announce the dates for the Bihar Assembly elections.

The electoral contest in Bihar is largely expected to be a direct fight between the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Mahagathbandhan led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the NDA currently holds 131 seats, with the BJP holding 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, and two Independents.

The Mahagathbandhan holds 111 seats, with the RJD securing 77, followed by the Congress with 19, the CPI(ML) with 11, the CPI(M) with 2, and the CPI with 2. (ANI)

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