Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi on Saturday said the poll process in the State will be completed before November 29 putting to rest speculations that the elections were heading to dates beyond the day the tenure of the present Assembly expires.
Zaidi, on the conclusion of the two-day tour of the poll bound State, however, refrained from replying to the questions regarding the timing of the election and when the poll schedule would be announced. “Everything will be announced at right time,” he quipped.
The speculations had fuelled as August and September are times of floods in the State and this period will be followed by festivals like Bakri Id, Dushehra, Muharram, Diwali and Chhath slated for October and November. President’s Rule would have to be imposed in the State if the election process is not over by November 29.
The central team also held meeting with all the DMs, SPs, zonal IGs and DIGs and Commissioners to review the preparedness for the election.
The CEC said there will be 6.68 crroe voters in Bihar of which 3.56 crore are males and 3.11 crore females. While 16.57 lakh new voters have been added, over five lakh have been deleted which mean an increase of 11.11 lakh new voters in the rolls. This time the number of polling stations will be 62,000 which 3,000 more than the previous election.