Ready to hold assembly polls, says Bihar CEO following announcement of dates

Patna, Oct 6 (PTI) Hours after dates for the Bihar assembly polls were announced, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (VEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal on Monday expressed confidence in the overall preparedness in conducting the elections.

Earlier in the day, the EC announced in New Delhi that the assembly elections in the state will be held in two phases - on November 6 and 11, while votes will be counted on November 14. The entire election process will conclude by November 16.

Talking to reporters on Monday, Gunjiyal said, “Our preparation for the elections is almost complete.” He said that there are 90,712 polling centres, of which 13,911 are in urban areas and 76,800 in rural regions. Each centre will cater to an average of 818 voters. To ensure convenience, he highlighted, additional voting centres have been created where the number of voters earlier exceeded 1,200.

The CEO announced 100 per cent webcasting coverage across all polling booths.

Gunjiyal said that 292 polling centres will be managed by Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), 1,044 by women, and 38 by youth. Around 1,350 ideal polling centres will be there to showcase model election practices.

He said there will be about 4.5 lakh election workers, and all Returning Officers (ROs), police, and enforcement officials have been trained. Voter information slips will be distributed four days before polling in order to ensure that voters can find their booths conveniently.

Apps like cVIGIL and Know Your Candidate will be deployed to assist voters in different ways. Citizens can also reach the helpline 1950 (with STD code) for election-related queries.

He said that Bihar has a total of 7.42 crore voters, including 14.01 lakh first-time voters and 1.63 crore electors in the 20-29 age group. There are 10.16 lakh senior citizens, 1.63 lakh service voters, and 3.49 crore women voters, which manifests into a gender ratio of 892.

Among the Election Commission’s digital initiatives are real-time voter turnout updates, digital index cards, mandatory VVPAT, and mobile deposit centres. Over four lakh people have reportedly attended EVM awareness programmes.

The CEO added that no booths will be relocated this time around, and helicopter-dropping of materials will be avoided. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect on Monday. PTI SUK NN