Low voter turnout in first phase of LS polls in UP
On Friday, 60.59 percent voting took place in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on eight seats in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce the poll dates for the Bihar Assembly elections today at 12:30 pm amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The tenure for 243 Assembly seats in Bihar is set to expire on October 29, 2020.
It is anticipated that the polls will be held in mid-October and in fewer phases this time due to the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
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Last month, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a petition seeking postponement of the Bihar Assembly elections due to the spread of coronavirus.
The apex court had said that the petition is premature as the Election Commission of India is yet to declare the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections.
Prior to this, the Election Commission had issued the broad guidelines for the conduct of the election.
With the outbreak of the pandemic, the ECI had sought suggestions of the National/State Political Parties for the conduct of elections.
As per the guidelines, a maximum of 1,000 voters can be present at any polling booth at a time, and every voter’s body temperature will be checked before the person is allowed to enter the booth.
Face Mask, Sanitizer, Thermal scanners, gloves, face shield and PPE kits shall be used during the electoral process ensuring social distancing norms. Hand gloves shall be provided to all the electors for signing on the voter register and pressing button of EVM for voting.
The BJP-JD (U) coalition is predefined in this election unlike the 2015 one as the BJP chief JP Nadda had said that the party will fight the election under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Nadda was addressing the party’s Bihar working committee via video conferencing. He expressed confidence in the alliance of BJP, JD (U) and LJP in the state and said, “We will fight Bihar polls together and emerge victoriously.”
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