Polling hours increased, except in Left wing extremism-affected districts, by an hour- from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
Bihar Assembly polls would be held in three phases- October 28, November 3 and November 7, and votes counted on November 10, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said the number of phases as well as the duration of the conduct of polls had been reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The polling hours had been increased, except in the Left wing extremism-affected districts, by an hour- from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
Mr. Arora said COVID-19 patients would be allowed to vote in the last hour of polling while following necessary precautions.
In the first phase, elections would be held in 71 of the 243 constituencies. The notification for this would be issued on October 1. The last…