The Election Commission of India (ECI) is gearing up for a significant visit to Bihar on October 4th and 5th. Their mission? To thoroughly review the state’s readiness for the highly anticipated Assembly polls.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, will be in Patna to conduct high-level meetings. They are scheduled to confer with the Chief Electoral Officer and various other key state officials to ensure all arrangements are in place.
Ahead of the ECI’s arrival, a preliminary meeting for all appointed Observers—covering General, Police, and Expenditure aspects—is slated for October 3rd in the national capital. A senior official confirmed this development.
Historically, the official election dates are released only after the full ECI team has concluded its state visit. Therefore, a formal announcement for the Bihar polls is expected anytime after October 5th. It is critical that the entire election process wraps up before November 22nd.
This upcoming visit marks the ECI’s first trip to Bihar since the controversial “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls was initiated. The final updated voter list is set to be released on September 30th, adding another layer of scrutiny to this visit.
The preliminary draft of the electoral roll indicated 7.24 crore registered voters, but approximately 65 lakh names were subsequently removed due to various discrepancies.
It’s worth noting that the ECI has already declared a nationwide SIR. This makes Bihar the inaugural state to conduct Assembly elections following this comprehensive “de novo” (from scratch) revision of its electoral rolls.
The Opposition has fiercely protested the SIR exercise, branding it as a tactic for mass disenfranchisement. The “Mahagathbandhan,” an alliance spearheaded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, previously organized street demonstrations, alleging widespread manipulation of the voter lists.
The Bihar election holds immense importance for both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA bloc. Its outcome could significantly influence the political landscape for next year’s Assembly polls in five other states. Furthermore, the INDIA bloc might leverage the contentious SIR exercise to escalate its “vote chori” (vote theft) campaign.
The last Bihar Assembly elections took place in October-November 2020, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forming the state government, with Nitish Kumar assuming the role of Chief Minister.