ECI to announce Bihar poll schedule: Opposition questions poll body’s credibility, BJP expresses confidence

After the Election Commission’s expected announcement of the election schedule in Bihar today, opposition MPs cast aspersions on the authenticity of the poll body, alleging that ”it has been compromised under the BJP rule and has colluded with the saffron party”. The Congress alleged that the poll body has lost its credibility.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “The INDIA alliance is very confident that if a fair election happens, if the Election Commission is fair, we are going to form the government in Bihar. We all know that the Election Commission of India has lost its credibility. They have started to work like the BJP’s organisation itself. Today is October 6, and the elections are going to be announced as per media reports. Two days ago, the Prime Minister announced a scheme for the youth of Bihar. For 20 years, they have done nothing for the youth and the unemployed. And on October 2, they announced Rs 10,000 for women. The Election Commission is the umpire, but the umpire is now compromised. We had seen it in the same issue earlier as well.”

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Meanwhile, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said that the wait is finally over. “CM Nitish Kumar is giving a lot of gifts to Bihar today. Patna Metro is being inaugurated, several new schemes have been launched, and a world-class cricket stadium has been built in Rajgir. We have shown development — Bihar has transformed from ‘jungle raj’ to ‘metro raj’,” he said.

On the ECI’s announcement, Congress MP Manoj Kumar exuded confidence in the INDIA alliance, saying, “There hasn’t been a seat-sharing arrangement within the NDA alliance yet, but everything is fine within our (INDIA) alliance. We will definitely win the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. There will be a change in Bihar.”

JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha welcomed the Election Commission’s announcement, calling elections a “festival of democracy.” He said, “The public will vote, based on the work done in Bihar over the past 20 years. The people have made up their minds to vote for the double-engine government. We have a strong track record of serving the people of the state.”