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After nod for Maharashtra, EC to focus on Rajya Sabha polls, Bihar
In Bihar, the sheer number of voters likely to participate in the elections will be a major consideration while deciding the schedule, said an official aware of the details.
After clearing elections to fill nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the Election Commission will decide next week whether polls can be held to fill 17 seats in the Bihar Legislative Council and 18 in the Rajya Sabha.
In Bihar, the sheer number of voters likely to participate in the elections will be a major consideration while deciding the schedule, said an official aware of the details.
Apart from the nine vacancies from the Vidhan Sabha constituency, elections will be held to fill eight vacancies in the teachers’ constituency and graduate constituency in Bihar, for which more than 400,000 voters have registered so far.
In April, following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Election Commission indefinitely deferred polls through its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, read with section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, to extend the period of elections beyond the prescribed term.
As a result, elections to fill 18 Rajya Sabha vacancies – four each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, three each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Manipur and Meghalaya – were put off.
The governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan had also written to the Election Commission to withhold the date for elections.
Asked whether the commission has begun discussions with these state governments to get a view of the ground situation, an Election Commission official said talks are underway and the situation in each state will be assessed before a decision.
“Each state will be assessed separately, since the condition in each state is different. In the case of Maharashtra, the state government categorically states it will ensure elections will be held as per the stated health protocols,” the official said.
On Friday, the Election Commission announced May 21 as the date for holding polls in Maharashtra, where chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is among contestants.
According to the health ministry’s data, Gujarat has recorded 4,395 cases of infection and 214 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 2,660 cases and 147 deaths, Rajasthan 2,584 cases and 58 deaths, Jharkhand 109 cases and three deaths, and Andhra Pradesh 1,403 cases and 31 deaths.
Commenting on the pending Rajya Sabha elections, Javed Ali Khan of the Samajwadi Party and a member of the Upper House, said the decision on holding polls is the prerogative of the Election Commission.
“The situation in Maharashtra was unique. There was a constitutional requirement for the chief minister to get elected. But there is no such compulsion to fill the Rajya Sabha seats, so the Election Commission’s decision on Maharashtra cannot be questioned,” he said.
A state government official in Bihar said the Election Commission will be informed about challenges related to ensuring distancing and sanitation protocols. Bihar has recorded 418 cases and three deaths.
“The number of people who will register for the teachers’ and the graduate constituencies is over four lakh now. It will keep going up till the last date of filing nominations. We are looking at very large voter participation. Polling stations for these eight seats will be set up at every block across districts and it will not be easy to ensure proper distancing and health protocols,” the official in Bihar said.
RJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha, however, said since holding elections for the legislative council is different from assembly elections, the poll panel should consider announcing dates for Bihar as well. “There has to be a universal policy for all,” Jha said.
In Uttar Pradesh, 11 legislative council seats – six in the teachers’ constituency and five in the graduates’ constituency – are vacant but a state government official said there had been no discussion so far on how soon elections to fill these seats will be held.
Article 324 empowers the poll panel to direct, control and conduct elections to Parliament, the legislature of every state and elections to the offices of president and vice president, and extension of time for completion of polls. Section 153 allows the Election Commission, for reasons it considers sufficient, to extend the time to complete any election by making necessary amendments.
