The Election Commission will announce the schedule of the Bihar Assembly Elections this afternoon in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, will brief the media on the poll dates. With the announcement of the election schedule, the model code of conduct will come into effect. The term of 243 members of Bihar Assembly will end on 22nd of next month.

           

 

This comes just a day after the poll panel’s delegation concluded its review of election preparedness in Bihar, meeting with representatives from all major political parties and assessing logistical arrangements.

 

 

This year’s elections are expected to be a high-stakes contest between the ruling alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (United), and the opposition coalition known as the Mahagathbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which is positioning itself as an alternative force in Bihar politics, will make the contest more interesting. In the previous Assembly elections held in 2020, the National Democratic Alliance secured a majority with 125 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan won 110. The RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats.