Bihar: Online nomination allowed for panchayat poll candidates

The State Election Commission (SEC) has decided to allow candidates for panchayat polls to file their nomination papers either through online or in conventional method, as was done in assembly elections last year in view of the Covid-19 pandemic

The State Election Commission (SEC) has decided to allow candidates for panchayat polls to file their nomination papers either through online or in conventional method, as was done in assembly elections last year in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The candidates will be allowed to take only one proposer and one vehicle to during the nomination process to the returning officer’s office.

As per guidelines issued by the SEC for panchayat polls amid the pandemic, all voters would be screened through thermal scanners and voters not wearing masks would be fined ₹50 as per provisions of Bihar Epidemic Diseases Covid-19 Regulation, 2020.

Like the last assembly polls, all voters would be given hand gloves for pressing the EVM button and signing at the voters’ register. Hand sanitisers and help desk would be available at all booths.

The guidelines state that voters having temperature above normal would be asked to come at the last hour of polling and provided tokens to cast their votes. There are 1.14 lakh polling stations in the panchayat polls and maximum number of voters in each polling station has been capped to 850.

The total number of voters in panchayat polls is around 6 crore. During the last polls, 10 lakh candidates were in fray for 2.58 lakh posts.

As per the guidelines, candidates would have to ensure social distancing norms at the venues earmarked to hold election meetings and the number of attendees would be fixed by district officials as per norms of the state disaster authority.