Patna, Oct 5 Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday reviewed preparedness for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections, 2025, in a meeting with the CEO of the state and nodal officers of police and Central Armed Police Forces, an official said.
The ECI discussions with enforcement agencies were aimed at assessing and strengthening measures aimed at curbing the misuse of money and muscle power, two key challenges in Bihar’s electoral landscape, the official said.
On the second day of its visit, the top Election Commission of India (ECI) team interacted with senior officials from the Income Tax Department, police, and other enforcement bodies to review action plans for ensuring transparency and integrity in the upcoming elections.
The discussions focused on enhancing inter-agency coordination, stepping up vigilance, and deploying targeted strategies to ensure a level playing field for all political parties, the official.
The Chief Electoral Officer, the State Police Nodal Officer, and representatives of Central security forces briefed CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, on operational preparedness.
This was followed by a high-level review of overall state-level coordination with the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, and other senior bureaucrats.
On Saturday, CEC Gyanesh Kumar led wide-ranging consultations with representatives of major national and regional parties, including BJP, Congress, JD(U), RJD, LJP (Ram Vilas), RLJP, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML-Liberation), BSP, AAP, and NPP.
Calling political parties “significant stakeholders of a strong democracy”, the Commission urged them to engage actively in the electoral process by appointing polling and counting agents. It also encouraged all parties to celebrate elections in a festive and inclusive manner.
Political parties, while appreciating ECI’s efforts in completing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and cleansing the electoral rolls, requested that elections be scheduled soon after the Chhath festival and conducted in fewer phases to boost voter turnout.
The representatives of political parties also welcomed reforms like capping electors per polling station at 1,200, timely postal ballot counting, and the mandatory handover of Form 17C to party agents post polling.
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