Battle for Bihar in 5 Phases, Counting on Nov 8
All you need to know about the forthcoming Bihar assembly elections as the Election Commission announces the dates.
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Bihar Poll Dates Announced, Political Parties Say They Are Ready for Battle
The Election Commission has announced that the Bihar polls will be held over five phases from October 12 to November 5, 2015.
Counting of votes will take place on November 8, 2015. Dr Nasir Zaidi, the Chief Election Commissioner has said that paramilitary forces will be present at each booth to ensure a peaceful election.
Both the BJP and the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance have welcomed the announcement.
The Quint will continue to bring you news, opinion and analysis on the Bihar Elections from now till November 8 and beyond.
In Bihar, every political party wants paramilitary forces at every booth. This is what leads to many phase elections. The EC should and does decide how many phases the election should be conducted... elections are also coming during festivals - Dusshera, Diwali, Chatt Puja. There is sufficient time for elections.
– Nitish Kumar, Bihar chief minister
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi questions announcement of Dearness Allowance hike by the central government while party president Sharad Yadav thinks “5 phases are a bit too much.”
Grand Alliance set, we are ready for the polls: JD(U) spokesperson to NDTV. BJP too welcomes election announcement.
The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) has welcomed the arrangements made by the Elections Commission.
EC has will deploy CRPF forces for every polling station to ensure free and fair elections. The CEC has mentioned law and order and left-wing extremists as the reason for the heavy deployment of forces.
– Date of polls for Phase I will be 12th October, 2015.
– Date of polls for Phase II will be 16th October, 2015.
– Date of polls for Phase III will be 28th October, 2015.
– Date of polls for Phase IV will be 1st November 2015.
– Date of polls for Phase V will be 5th November 2015.
Election to be conducted in 5 phases.
For Phase I, date of notification will be Wednseday, the 16th of September. Last dates for filing nominations will be the 23rd of september. Date of the poll will be 12th October
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to be enforced with immediate effect. You can read the details of provisions under the the Model Code of Conduct here.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMS) to have photos of candidates to combat ‘namesake’ candidates. Photo ID cards will be given to every voter five days before voting day.
‘Single window’ system for political parties and stakeholders. Permission for public meetings, loudspeakers, vehicles etc to be granted within 36 hours so that parties can utilize the time for campaigning effectively: CEC Dr Nasir Zaidi
More than 9 central and state agencies have been pressed into service to check the use of cash and liquor in the elections. Points where cash and liquor are stored are also being investigated: CEC
EC has made adequate arrangements for security and assigned paramilitary forces: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr Nasim Zaidi says the EC has put in a lot of preparation for the Bihar elections.
Just before the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect, the central government has announced a 6 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA ) for government employees
The Election Commission will begin its press conference shortly. Once the election dates are announced, the Model Code of Conduct will come into effect.
You can read the details of provisions under the the Model Code of Conduct here.
The Big Fight in 2015 (Modi vs Nitish-Lalu)
It’s a straight fight between the so-called secular combine and the BJP + allies. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD are the big two in the Janata Parivar, which was rocked by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP deciding to fight the elections on its own.
On the other hand, BJP will go it mostly alone with Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP as a partner.
A Reminder of 2010’s Results
The Janata Dal (United) was the single largest party with 115 seats out of 243 seats. But that wasn’t enough for it to form a government on its own. It tied up with the BJP which got 91 seats.
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, once a potent force in Bihar, could only get 22 seats, while Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP got 3 seats. The Congress could only manage 4 seats.
Good afternoon. We’ll soon know the exact dates of the Bihar elections and the number of phases in which people will vote. The Election Commission will be announcing the dates, and you’ll get all the dope you need right here.
The last assembly election was held between 21 October and 20 November in 2010 over six phases, so expect at least a 5-7 phase election this time.
The JDU’s Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the second time with Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP taking over as his deputy. Of course, Nitish Kumar broke the JDU-BJP alliance in 2013, just as Narendra Modi was being declared the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate.
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Published: 09 Sep 2015,01:29 PM IST