1,090 nomination papers found valid for 1st phase of Bihar Assembly polls

After scrutiny of nomination papers filed for 71 constituencies in Bihar's first phase of Assembly election, the authorities found those of 1,090 candidates valid, an official said on Saturday.

Voting for this phase will be held on October 28 and the final picture regarding the number of candidates will be known after the last date of withdrawal on Monday, Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) Sanjay Kumar Singh told reporters.

Of the 1,354 nomination papers filed, 264 were found invalid.

For the first time, the Election Commission has made arrangements for submitting nomination papers online and 10 candidates have availed the facility for the first phase, Singh said.

Filing of nomination papers for the second phase, in which 94 Assembly constituencies will go to polls on November 3, started on Friday and eight candidates submitted their documents till 5 pm on Saturday, the ACEO said.

The last date of filing nomination papers for this phase is October 16. Scrutiny will be carried out on October 17 and the papers can be withdrawn till October 19.

The third and final phase will be held on November 7, and counting of votes will take place on November 10.

To promote non-contact campaigning in this Covid-19 time, the EC has increased the base time slot for political parties to canvass in Doordarshan and All India Radio from the existing 45 minutes to 90 minutes, Singh said.

A lottery will be held on Monday to allot time and date to parties.

An official release from the CEO's office said that 1,022 illegal arms have been seized so far, while 15,335 licensed arms deposited. The authorities also cancelled the license of 1,862 for various reasons.

It also said that 8,90,792 litre of liquor have been seized in Bihar which is a dry state, while Rs 14.63 crore in unaccounted cash have been recovered so far during checking of vehicles.