Bihar Assembly Elections Schedule 2020 & Dates

Bihar Assembly Elections Schedule 2020 & Dates: The Election Commission Of India has announced the Bihar Assembly Elections Dates 2020 on 25th September 2020. The Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020 will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes and the results will be declared on November 10. 

The Election Commission said the polls will be held in less phases this year to minimise the movement of security personnel, to ensure their wellbeing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct comes into force in the state. Bihar’s 243-member Assembly will be expire on October 29, 2020.

Bihar Assembly Elections Schedule 2020: Highlights

Bihar Assembly Election 2020 Dates

The Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2020 will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes and the results will be declared on November 10.

Bihar polls will be held in three phases

• Phase 1 – 71 constituencies – 16 districts – (31,000 polling stations)
• Phase 2 – 94 constituencies – 17 districts (42,000 polling stations)
• Phase 3 – 78 constituencies – 15 districts (33,500 polling stations)

We have shared phase wise dates for Bihar Assembly Elections 2020.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 1

First phase will see 71 Assembly constituencies in 16 districts.

• Date of issue of gazette notification: 01st October 2020
• Last date of nomination: 08th October 2020
• Scrutiny of nomination: 09th October 2020
• Last date of withdrawal of candidature: 12th October 2020
• Date of polling: 28th October 2020
• Date of counting: 10th November 2020

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 2

In the second phase, 94 constituencies in 17 districts will vote.

• Date of issue of gazette notification: 09th October 2020
• Last date of nomination: 16th October 2020
• Scrutiny of nomination: 17th October 2020
• Last date of withdrawal of candidature: 19th October 2020
• Date of polling: 03rd November 2020
• Date of counting: 10th November 2020

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Phase 3

In the third and last phase, voting will be held in 78 constituencies in 15 districts.

• Date of issue of gazette notification: 13th October 2020
• Last date of nomination: 20th October 2020
• Scrutiny of nomination: 21st October 2020
• Last date of withdrawal of candidature: 23rd October 2020
• Date of polling: 07th November 2020
• Date of counting: 10th November 2020

• Also, Check – IPL 2020 Schedule PDF Complete Timetable & Match Timings

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 EC guidelines

The Election Commission has announced a list of guidelines that will be followed during the Bihar elections to ensure safety from Covid-19. Here are some of the measures that will be taken:

• Polling hours have been increased by one hour. Voting from 7 am to 6 pm instead of the usual 5 pm. (Except for in LWE areas)
• Covid-19 patients and suspected cases will be allowed to vote in the last hour of the poll day.
• All physical contact has been prohibited during the campaign.
• Postal ballot facility will be provided for those above the age of 80.
• The EC said 7 lakh hand sanitisers, 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh face shields and 23 lakh pairs of hand gloves have been arranged for Bihar polls.

Bihar Elections 2020 Highlights

Bihar Assembly term expires on November 29, 2020

• CEC Sunil Arora says, “We are all aware that the term of Assembly in Bihar is expiring on November 29. Bihar Assembly holds a strength of 243 members of which 38 seats are reserved for SCs and two for STs.”

Covid-19 security measures for Bihar Assembly Elections 2020

• Nomination form for Bihar Assembly Elections is now available online, apart from offline. Security money can also be transferred in online mode, says CEC Sunil Arora.
• The number of people who will accompany the candidate to file nomination papers is restricted to two people.
• For campaigning, door-to-door campaigning limit is three persons; convoys will be restricted to five cars.

Bihar elections 2020 amid Covid-19: Sanitizers, masks, PPE kits

• Over 7 lakh hand sanitiser units, about 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 Bihar elections 2020.
• For voters specifically, 7.2 crore single-use hand gloves arranged, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

Bihar elections: Electors increased from 67 million to 72 million, says CEC Sunil Arora

• The total electors in Bihar in 2015 was 67 million. The number has increased to 72 million, says CEC Sunil Arora.

Bihar Election 2020: Voters per polling station reduced to 1,000 from 1,500

• The EC has revisted the instructions for holding elections due to Covid-19. The first major step that was taken to reduce the number of electors at each polling station.
• This has reduced from 1,500 to 1,000, says CEC Arora. This means, more than a lakh polling stations, up from 65,337 in 2015.

Covid-19 patients can vote in the last hour of voting process

• Apart from postal facility, those with Covid-19 who are quarantined can vote in the last hour of voting.
• Polling time has been increased by one hour, and will not be held from 7 am to 6 pm.

Bihar elections: Postal ballots extended to people above age of 80 years

• Postal ballots has been extended to people above the age of 80 years. Whereever required and asked for, the facility will be extended.
• Further, voters with disabilities, and who are suffering with Covid-19, will be taken care of, says CEC Sunil Arora.