CEC, Election Commissioners To Visit Patna on October 4
The term of the 243-member Bihar Assembly ends on November 22 and polls in the state are likely to be held in multiple phases beginning at the end of this month and in November
New Delhi: A team from Election Commission of India (ECI) led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and S. S. Sandhu will visit Patna on Saturday and Sunday to review assembly poll preparedness in Bihar. The dates for assembly elections in the state are expected to be announced next week.
The term of the 243-member Bihar Assembly ends on November 22 and polls in the state are likely to be held in multiple phases beginning at the end of this month and in November.
The ECI team will meet representatives of political parties and top police, administrative and state poll officials while reviewing election readiness. A briefing of general, police and expenditure observers appointed by the ECI for the Bihar polls is underway here.
The review meeting comes days after the ECI completed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list in Bihar. The SIR, conducted after a gap of over two decades, has come under sharp criticism from Opposition parties who have claimed that it will disenfranchise crores of genuine citizens.
On Friday, the ECI organised a briefing for General, Police and Expenditure Observers to be deployed as Central Observers for the forthcoming Bihar assembly elections. A total of 425 Officers including 287 IAS officers, 58 IPS officers, and 80 officers from IRS/IRAS/ICAS and other services attended the meeting.
Addressing the Observers, Gyanesh Kumar described them as the “beacons of democracy” and as the Commission’s eyes and ears, they were asked to familiarise themselves with all the election laws, rules, and guidelines, provide direct field inputs and ensure their strict and impartial compliance.
The Observers were instructed to remain fully accessible to political parties, candidates, and voters for the redressal of their grievances. They were also instructed to visit polling stations, and ensure the implementation of the recent initiatives taken by the Commission for the convenience of the voters.