A team of officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI) is scheduled to visit Patna on Monday to review preparations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.
"The team will reach Patna before lunch to see the latest developments as far as the preparation for the Bihar Assembly election is concerned," an official from the commission told ANI. In addition, the official said that they will also oversee the latest pandemic situation in the state.
The ECI team includes Deputy Election Commissioners Sudeep Jain and Chandrabhushan Kumar. This is the first visit of the Election Commission team before the Assembly polls which is due in October-November.
The tenure of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on 29 November.
During the two-day visit, the ECI team will hold meetings with DMs and SPs of different districts at Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, and Bodh Gaya. Before returning to Delhi, they will hold a review meeting with the chief secretary and other senior officials in Patna.
Earlier in August, poll officials had made indications that the polls could be held sometime in October-November. "Bihar elections are definitely happening on time," a senior official of the poll panel told PTI.
The ECI had earlier released its updated election-related guidelines in which necessary changes were made considering the coronavirus pandemic.
A detailed COVID-19 related comprehensive plan will be prepared at the state level, taking local conditions into account, the guidelines had stated.
A separate set of guidelines would be issued for voters who are residing in areas notified as COVID-19 "containment zone". The commission has recommended mandatory sanitisation of polling stations, preferably a day before polling.
Thermal scanners would be placed at the entry point of every polling station. Polling or paramedical staff will conduct thermal screening of voters at the entry point of a polling station, it said.
In case an election cannot be held before the term of the Assembly ends, the Election Commission will seek a certificate from the Law Ministry to postpone the elections, detailing the reasons. The state will then comes under the central rule in the absence of an elected legislature, reports PTI.
With inputs from PTI
September 14, 2020 at 06:35PM
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