CEC Reviews Bihar Election Preparedness; Focus On Tackling Money And Muscle Power

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday held a review meeting with Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer and nodal officers from the police and Central Armed Police Forces to assess the state’s preparedness for the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, an official said.

According to the official, the Election Commission of India (ECI) engaged with enforcement agencies to evaluate and strengthen measures designed to curb the influence of money and muscle power—two persistent challenges in Bihar’s electoral landscape.

On the second day of its visit, the ECI’s top team met senior representatives from the Income Tax Department, police, and other enforcement bodies to examine action plans for maintaining transparency and integrity during the forthcoming polls.

Discussions centred on improving coordination among agencies, increasing vigilance, and implementing targeted strategies to ensure a fair and competitive environment for all political parties, the official added.

The Chief Electoral Officer, the State Police Nodal Officer, and officials from Central security forces briefed CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi on the state’s operational readiness.

Officials then held a high-level meeting with the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, and other senior bureaucrats to review overall state-level coordination.

Consultations with Political Parties

Earlier on Saturday, Gyanesh Kumar led extensive consultations with key national and regional political parties, including the BJP, Congress, JD(U), RJD, LJP (Ram Vilas), RLJP, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML-Liberation), BSP, AAP, and NPP.

Describing political parties as ‘significant stakeholders of a strong democracy’, the Commission urged them to actively participate in the electoral process by appointing polling and counting agents.

It also encouraged all parties to approach the elections in a festive and inclusive spirit.

Parties welcomed the ECI’s efforts to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and to clean the electoral rolls.

They also requested that the elections be held shortly after the Chhath festival and conducted in fewer phases to encourage higher voter turnout.

In addition, party representatives supported several recent electoral reforms, including capping the number of electors per polling station at 1,200, ensuring timely postal ballot counting, and mandating the handover of Form 17C to party agents after polling.

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