Rural bodies in Bihar will go to polls in as many as 11 phases, between 24 September 2021 and 12 December 2021. A notification pertaining to the conduct of elections shall be issued by the State Election Commission (SEC), on 24 August 2021. The electoral exercise shall be conducted to elect mukhiyas, sarpanchs, zila parishad members, panchayat samiti members and ward members.
According to reports, the proposal to conduct the three-tier elections has already been approved by the state cabinet. Notably, rural bodies across the state had to be constituted by 15 June 2021, but the elections were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The upcoming local body polls shall be conducted using both, EVMs, as well as ballot papers, depending upon availability, the state’s chief electoral officer, had clarified in July 2021. Polling to elect the 8,000-odd sarpach posts, and 1.10 lakh panch positions shall be done through EVMs, he had clarified. Besides this, EVMs shall also be used for electing mukhiya, ward councillor, panchayat samiti and zila parshad or councilor, he had said.
The upcoming elections are being seen as the Nitish Kumar-led state government’s litmus test, which has been greatly criticized lately for its poor handling of the migrant crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Notably, the state government has invited tenders for putting up solar lights in over 8,300 panchayats and 143 urban bodies across the state, ahead of the polls. The scheme is expected to cost the state government approximately Rs. 20,000 crore.
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The state government’s motivation behind the initiative has been questioned by the Opposition, in the backdrop of the corruption charges leveled against panchayat representatives with respect to the execution of the previous solar light scheme.
