Bihar polls, 65 bypolls to be held simultaneously

The poll schedules would be announced at an appropriate time, it said.

A view of the logo of Election Commission of India (ECI), in New Delhi. File

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to conduct 65 by-elections in various States along with Bihar Assembly polls. The poll schedules would be announced at an appropriate time, it said.

The decision was taken at an ECI meeting on Friday.

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By-elections were due for 64 for Assembly constituencies and one Parliamentary seat, said the ECI.

The Commission reviewed the reports and inputs from Chief Secretaries/Chief Electoral Officers of many of the States concerned, seeking deferment of bypolls in view of various factors, including extraordinary heavy rains at some places and other constraints such as the pandemic.

Considering that Bihar Assembly polls required to be completed before November 29, the ECI decided to hold the byelections around the same time.

“One of the major factors in clubbing them together is the relative ease of movement of Central Armed Police Forces/other law and order forces, and related logistics issues”, it said.