Hold assembly polls soon after Chhat in minimal phases: Bihar parties to EC

Political parties in Bihar told the Election Commission on Saturday to hold assembly elections ''immediately after'' the Chhat festival to ensure increased voter participation and in as few phases as possible, the poll body said.

Chhat, an important festival in Bihar that is celebrated six days after Diwali, will fall on October 25-28 this year.

Representatives of six national and as many state parties interacted with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in Patna, officials said.

The poll authority is in Patna for two days to take stock of poll preparedness in the state.

The term of the 243-member Bihar assembly ends on November 22.

The first phase of elections is likely to be held at the end of October, soon after Chhat.

During Diwali and Chhat, people employed outside Bihar return home for festivities, and it is considered the best time to hold polls to ensure greater voter participation.

''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,'' EC said in a statement.

The parties, EC said, ''thanked'' it 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.

The parties also appreciated the move to reduce the number of voters per polling station from 1500 to 1200 as part of rationalisation.

This will ensure less crowded polling stations on voting day.

After Bihar, the polling station rationalisation exercise is being held across all states.

In 2020, the last assembly polls in the state were held in three phases under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the interaction with political parties, the Commission held a detailed review with administration and police officials on every aspect of election planning, EVM management, seizures, law and order, voter awareness and outreach activities.

District officials concerned were instructed to monitor social media for fake news and to respond swiftly with appropriate legal action, if required, the EC said.

In Patna, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) said it urged the Election Commission to consider holding assembly polls ''in a single phase'', citing the example of Maharashtra which has a larger number of constituencies.

''We urged the EC to hold assembly elections in a single phase. It is possible. The state has no law and order problem, nor is it in the throes of Naxal violence. If elections could be held in a single phase in Maharashtra, why not here?'' JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha told reporters after meeting the visiting EC team.

The BJP also urged the Election Commission to hold the upcoming Bihar assembly elections in one or two phases, and to ensure that women in burqas are properly verified against their voter ID photographs at the polling booths.

''We have urged the Election Commission to conduct the elections in one or two phases. The election process need not be staggered. Also, tallying of faces of voters, especially burqa-clad women, must be ensured with respective EPIC cards so that only genuine voters get to exercise their franchise,'' state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said.

The JD(U) said that the people returning to their native places in Bihar for festivals like Diwali and Chhath should be able to vote. ''A large number of people who eke out a living in other parts of the country visit their home state during this time. So, the poll schedule should be drawn in such a manner that migrants could cast their vote before returning to their places of work,'' Jha said.

A delegation of opposition RJD, headed by Abhay Kushwaha, also urged the EC to consider holding the polls in not more than two phases.

Smaller parties like Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and INDIA bloc partner CPI(ML) Liberation told the Election Commission that they were in favour of assembly polls being held in ''not more than two phases''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)