Bihar Elections 2020 dates Live Updates: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora addresses a press conference, at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. (Express Photo: Amit Mehra, File)Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 Dates Live Updates: The Election Commission will hold a press conference at 12.30 pm in New Delhi on Friday to announce dates for the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. As soon as the dates are announced, the Model Code of Conduct will be enforced in the state. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, several measures are expected to be taken for campaigning and polling to ensure safety of leaders and voters. Bihar’s 243-member Assembly is set to expire on October 29, 2020.
Along with the Bihar schedule, the EC is also likely to announce the schedule for by-election to one Lok Sabha and 64 Assembly seats.
Several countries have held elections amid the pandemic. However, earlier this week, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the Bihar polls are likely to be the largest elections conducted during the pandemic given there are with 72.9 million electors in the state.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. (File Photo)
Due to the pandemic, the EC has restricted campaigning to three people for door-to-door visits, allowed only five cars (instead of 10) in a candidate's convoy for roadshows and said only two people will accompany the candidate to file her nomination papers. Further, it has limited the number of people who can vote at one polling station to 1,000, down from 1,500. Temperature checks, masks and social distancing will be compulsory on the day of voting. Read our explainer on what the EC has said on elections amid Covid-19
Several countries like South Korea and Singapore have held elections amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, earlier this week, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the Bihar polls were likely to be the largest elections conducted during the pandemic given there are with 72.9 million electors in the state. He also said elections in India posed formidable challenges on account of the large electorate, geographical and linguistic diversity and differing climatic conditions. Read more here
Just ahead of the Election Commission's press conference, the Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking to postpone the Bihar Assembly elections due to Covid-19. A three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M R Shah was hearing a petition filed by one Ajay Kumar. "We can't permit everybody to go to the Election Commission. We can only permit you to withdraw the petition," the bench said, reported PTI.
Hello, and welcome to our live blog. The Election Commission will hold a press conference at 12.30 pm to announce the dates of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020. Along with the Bihar schedule, the EC is also likely to announce the schedule for by-election to one Lok Sabha and 64 Assembly seats. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates