NEW DELHI: The three-phase Bihar polls will be held on October 28, November 3 and November 7 in what will be the first large-scale elections in the country since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The Election Commission on Friday announced strict Covid-19 protocols for parties and voters to ensure that the voting exercise is conducted in a safe & smooth manner.
Here’s how assembly elections in Bihar will be different than any other polls we have seen so far:
* The voting timing has been increased by one hour. Now, the voting will take place from 7am to 6pm. Earlier, it used to take place between 7am to 5pm. However, this will be not be applicable in Maoist-hit areas.
Live updates: Bihar polls
* District election officers will identify grounds for physical campaigning and also ensure circles are marked on the ground to ensure social distancing.
* Number of voters per polling station has been cut to 1,000 to facilitate social distancing. This will raise the number of polling stations to over 1 lakh in 2020 from 65,337 in the 2015 elections.
* Covid-19 patients who’re quarantined will be able to cast their vote on the last day of poll, at their respective polling stations, under the supervision of health authorities. This is besides the option of postal facility already extended to them.
* Over 7 lakh hand sanitiser units, nearly 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh units of faces-shields, 23 lakh (pairs of) hand gloves have been arranged for the polls. 7.2 crore single-use hand gloves have also been arranged for the voters.
Watch Bihar elections 2020: EC announces poll dates, to be held in 3 phases