Parties meet Election Commission with demands, suggestions for fair Bihar Assembly elections

PATNA: Representatives of various political parties today met the Election Commission here and demanded a slew of measures to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling in the remaining phases of the Bihar Assembly elections.

The major demands included deployment of Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) at booths, steps to maintain communal harmony during festive season, checks on announcements by central ministers that may work as inducement to voters, monitoring of paid news, strengthening of single window system in order to get easy and quick approval and permissions to hold rallies, use of helicopters etc.

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, Election Commissioners A K Joti and Om Prakash Rawat met the representatives of different political parties to get feedback and suggestions from them.

A three-member full fledged Commission led by Zaidi is on a two-day visit to Bihar to take stock of preparedness for the fourth and fifth phases of Assembly elections.

A BJP delegation, led by the party's state president Mangal Pandey, demanded deployment of CPMF at booths and not outside as it happened in the earlier two phases of polling, appointment of special observers in Nalanda district, which is the CM's home district, as the party apprehends irregularities.

BJP also asked the Commission to keep a tab on officials denying permission for holding the Prime Minister's rally at the behest of the state government, Pandey told reporters.

A delegation of ruling JD(U), led by its MLC Ramvachan Rai, raised the issue of Dharmendra Pradhan's announcement of giving LPG connections free of cost to poor women and termed it as "inducement" to voters.

"The Commission should also keep a close watch on paid news besides keeping a tab on rumours, which may be spread during the festive season in order to vitiate the atmosphere," Rai said, adding Dalit voters should be given adequate security as they were being intimidated.