Bihar assembly polls in two phases on Nov 6 and 11 with reforms

The Election Commission of India on Monday announced that Bihar will hold assembly elections in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with votes to be counted on November 14. Polling will cover all 243 seats; 121 constituencies vote in the first phase and 122 in the second, the commission said at a press briefing in Patna.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the state’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, completed ahead of the polls, has produced a final roll of about 7.42 to 7.43 crore electors, including roughly 14 lakh first‑time voters. The commission has set up about 90,700 polling stations and limited the maximum number of electors per booth to 1,200. Gazette notifications for the two phases will be issued on October 10 and October 13 respectively. Last dates for filing nominations are October 17 for phase one and October 20 for phase two; withdrawals are scheduled through October 20 and October 23.

The poll authority unveiled a package of procedural reforms for Bihar that it said will be piloted nationwide. Measures include compulsory webcasting at all booths, colour photographs and larger serial numbers on ballot papers, a rule to deposit...