Bihar Assembly Elections to be Held in Two Phases on November 6 and 11, Counting of Votes on Nov 14: EC

In a press conference on October 5, CEC Kumar did not provide any details about the number of foreign “illegal immigrants” found in the rolls or the reasons for deletion of 47 lakh voters.

The Wire Staff

In a press conference on October 5, CEC Kumar did not provide any details about the number of foreign “illegal immigrants” found in the rolls or the reasons for deletion of 47 lakh voters.

bihar assembly elections to be held in two phases on november 6 and 11 counting of votes on nov 14 ec

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi announcing the Bihar legislative election dates on October 6. Photo: Screengrab from Election Commission press conference

New Delhi: Six days after it published its electoral rolls after its controversial 'special intensive revision' (SIR) exercise, the Election Commission has announced that polls in Bihar will take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11.

Terming the Bihar state elections as the "mother of all elections", Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said in a press conference on Monday (October 6) that the counting of votes will take place on November 14.

Even before the announcement, news outlets reported that the decision to reduce the number of phases had been taken after factoring in feedback from political parties during the ECI's Bihar visit.

Indian Express quoted sources as having said that in a meeting with political parties over the weekend, the ruling National Democratic Alliance called for a single-phase election and opposition parties, for a two-phase election.

In a press conference on October 5, CEC Kumar did not provide any details about the number of foreign “illegal immigrants” found in the rolls or the reasons for deletion of 47 lakh voters. The electorate in the state had shrunk by about 6% after the publication of the final rolls.

As the election process comes under scrutiny, read The Wire's coverage of the Bihar SIR, opposition's allegations and more, here

This article went live on October sixth, two thousand twenty five, at thirty-four minutes past four in the afternoon.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.