Bihar Election Date Phase-wise: List of Important Dates as State Heads to Polls Amid Covid-19

The key dates for elections to elect the members of the 243 seats for the Bihar State Legislative Assembly were announced by the Election Commission of India (EC) on Friday. The Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases from October 28 and November 7, chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said. Voting in the first phase will be held on October 28, the second phase will be on November 3 and the third phase will be on November 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. Notably, this will be the first state election to be held in India since the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s a detailed guide on voting dates for all the Bihar Assembly seats and the schedule:

Q.KEY DATES FOR PHASE 1 OF BIHAR ASSEMBLY POLLS

The date of issue of gazette notification for phase 1 of Bihar assembly polls is October 1 while the last date of nomination is October 8. The last date for the scrutiny of nominations is October 9 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature October 12. The date of polling will be October. The counting of votes, for all phases, will be on November 10.

Q.SCHEDULE FOR PHASE 2 BIHAR ASSEMBLY POLLS

For the second phase, the date for issue of notification is October 9. The last date of nomination is October 16 and scrutiny of nominations is October 17. Meanwhile, the last date for withdrawal of candidature October 19, and date of polling is November 3.

Q.IMPORTANT DATES FOR PHASE 3 OF BIHAR ASSEMBLY POLLS

In the third phase, the last date for the issue of notification is October 13 and the date of nomination is October 20. The scrutiny of nominations has to be done by October 21, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature October 23. The date of polling for the final phase will be November 7.

Q. What Special Arrangements Have Been Made amid Covid-19?

Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said that one of the first major steps which were taken was to bring down the maximum number of electors at a polling station from 1,500 to 1,000. “As a result of this, the number of polling stations went from 65,337 (in 2015 Assembly elections) to more than one lakh in 2020,” he said. The ECI has also made preparations for sanitisers, masks and PPE kits, to ensure the safe conduct of the elections in Bihar.

“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 arranged. For voters specifically, 7.2 crore single-use hand gloves arranged,” he added. Social distancing norms will need to be followed at public gatherings during the poll campaign.