India / Bihar Assembly polls will be held on time: Election Commission

New Delhi: The Election Commission has rejected the demand of the political parties in Bihar to postpone the Assembly elections in the state.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora reiterated on Monday that elections in Bihar will be held on time, and that the poll panel is making preparations keeping in view the Covid-19 situation.

Arora said this while speaking to a news channel. He said that the Election Commission is taking all the necessary precautions in the wake of the coronavirus disease.

The political parties in Bihar, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), had urged the poll panel to postpone the elections in the state. The LJP had written a letter to the Election Commission saying it is not advisable to put lives of lakhs of people at risk by holding elections at this time.

Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh had also said on Sunday that the current situation in Bihar is not conducive for Assembly elections. In the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Singh said he believes that the safety of people should be given paramount importance.

“The safety of a person and society is the topmost important. The current situation in Bihar and the rest of the country is pathetic. In Bihar every third family has Covie-19 case,” he told news agency ANI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, said that whether to hold an election or postpone it falls absolutely within the ambit of Election Commission and refrained from making any comment on this issue.

The Election Commission had asked for suggestions from the political parties on holding the Assembly elections in the state. The earlier deadline of July 31 was increased to August 11 by the commission.

The tenure of the current Assembly will end in Bihar on November 29. President’s rule has to be imposed if the election process is not completed by November 28 in the state.