Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Poll dates to be announced by Election Commission today

The poll dates for Bihar assembly elections 2020 are set to be announced today by the Election Commission of India (ECI) through a press conference at 12.30 pm.

The polls to elect a new 243-member assembly will be held in more than one phase, keeping in mind the Covid-19 guidelines and social distancing norms.

The Election Commission sources on Wednesday said that all necessary preparations are in full swing to conduct the assembly election in Bihar on time. The state election commission of Bihar had last month given its nod for holding elections, scheduled for later this year.

The ECI has set a new code of conduct and guidelines for the Bihar elections 2020, which includes COVID-19 protocols not only for the political parties but also for the voters.

Following standard safety measures, including social distancing and wearing of masks is mandatory, ECI had said, adding that those with high temperature will have to vote in the last one hour of the polling process and that there will be fewer voters at a booth.

EC has capped the number of people involved in door-to-door campaigning and has also allowed the submission of nomination forms online.

The commission has said it will provide gloves to voters before they use electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The number of tables in a counting hall has been reduced to half - from 14 to 7.

The Assembly elections for 243 seats in Bihar are due in October-November and the tenure of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on November 29.