The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections in October, according to sources. The announcement will come shortly after the final voter list is published at the end of September. Polling for the 243-member assembly is likely to be held in two or three phases in November, following the Durga Puja and Dussehra festivals.
The entire election process, including vote counting, is tentatively scheduled to be completed between November 15 and 20, ensuring that the new government is in place before the current assembly’s term expires on November 22.
The Political Landscape and Voter List Controversy
The upcoming election is set to be a high-stakes contest between the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA bloc.
- The NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, currently holds 131 seats with the support of the BJP (80 MLAs), JD(U) (45 MLAs), HAM(S) (4 MLAs), and two independent candidates.
- The INDIA bloc, led by the RJD (77 MLAs), holds 111 seats in total, with contributions from the Congress (19), CPI(ML) (11), CPI(M) (2), and CPI (2).
The Special Summary Revision (SIR) process for the voter list has become a major point of contention. The Congress party has claimed to have submitted nearly 89 lakh complaints about irregularities in the voter rolls. However, the state’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) has stated that the party did not follow the proper procedure for filing the objections. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation has also submitted its own list of 118 claims and objections regarding the electoral rolls.