Bihar Assembly election likely to be held in two to three phases in November; dates could be announced next month

While the NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, aims to continue its tenure in Bihar, the INDIA bloc, comprising the RJD, Congress, and left parties, seeks to oust Nitish Kumar

The schedule for the Bihar Assembly polls is likely to be announced by the Election Commission in October, after the publication of the updated voter list under the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.

With Durga Puja and Dussehra round the close by, the announcement may be made post that, according to sources cited by CNN-News18. The polly body could announce the election schedule in the first or early second week of October.

Assembly polls in the state could be held in two to three phases in November, most likely after Chhath Puja – which happens to be a big festival in Bihar.

The sources, cited in the report, revealed that vote counting is tentatively scheduled between November 15 and 20, with the entire election process to be completed by November 22.

While the NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, aims to continue its tenure in Bihar, the INDIA bloc, comprising the RJD, Congress, and left parties, seeks to oust Nitish Kumar.

In the current Bihar Assembly of 243 members, the NDA consists of 131, with the BJP having 80 MLAs, JD(U)-45, HAM(S)-4, with the support of 2 independent candidates.

The Opposition’s INDIA bloc has a strength of 111 members with RJD leading with 77 MLAs, Congress-19, CPI(ML)-11, CPI(M)-2 and CPI-2.