The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced in a press note that approximately 8.5 lakh election officials have been deployed to ensure the smooth and orderly conduct of the Bihar Assembly elections, which will cover all 243 constituencies in two phases.
The first phase of polling is scheduled for November 6, for 121 constituencies, while the second phase on November 11 will cover the remaining 122 constituencies. Vote counting is set for November 14.
The ECI detailed the deployment of personnel, which includes around 4.53 lakh polling personnel, 2.5 lakh police officials, 28,370 counting personnel, 17,875 micro observers, 9,625 sector officers, 4,840 micro observers for counting, and up to 90,712 Anganwadi Sevikas who may also be deployed.
Additionally, the election machinery comprises 90,712 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), accessible to voters via phone calls and the “Book-a-call to BLO” facility on the ECINet App. The ECI also provided a call centre number, +91 (STD Code) 1950, for registering complaints or queries at the District Election Officer (DEO) or Returning Officer (RO) level.
As per Section 28A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, all deployed personnel are considered to be on deputation to the ECI. In a first for Bihar, the ECI has appointed one General Observer for each of the 243 constituencies to act as the Commission’s representatives.
Additionally, 38 police observers and 67 expenditure observers have been deployed. These observers will be stationed in their respective constituencies and will regularly meet with political parties and candidates to address their concerns, according to the ECI.
Also Read: Bihar elections: Polling Nov 6 & 11, results Nov 14
The Bihar Assembly election will see a contest between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), and the INDIA bloc, comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by Tejashwi Yadav, the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Additionally, Prashant Kishor’s newly formed Jan Suraaj party has announced its intention to contest all 243 seats in the state.
Also Read: Delhi HC to ECI: Allot common symbol to Jan Sangh in Bihar
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