Election Commission announces Bihar assembly poll schedule amid tight security

The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Bihar assembly elections, triggering the Model Code of Conduct across the state. Voting will be conducted in three phases over three weeks in October, with counting scheduled shortly after the final phase.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, said the commission had reviewed the security situation in all 243 constituencies and was satisfied that free and fair elections could be conducted. Over 60,000 central armed police personnel will be deployed across the state for the duration of the election.

The announcement came amid rising political temperatures in the state, with the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc both claiming they would win a comfortable majority. The BJP, which is contesting in alliance with the JD(U), has already released its first list of candidates. The RJD, leading the opposition bloc, said it was confident of forming the next government.

Opposition parties have demanded that the commission ensure adequate voter list verification and VVPAT auditing, pointing to alleged discrepancies in voter rolls in previous elections. The commission said it had taken note of these concerns and would deploy special observer teams.