Page 190 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2

Leap of Faith Journey of Indian Elections

To aid physical distancing, the Election Commission
increased the polling time by one hour, except in the Left
Wing Extremism affected areas. The poll time thus lasted
from 7 AM to 6 PM. In the last hour, COVID patients who
were quarantined were allowed to vote in their respective
polling stations under the supervision of health authorities,
by strictly adhering to the COVID safety protocols.
Polling for the three-phased elections was held on
October 28, November 3 and November 7, 2020. The
total number of candidates in fray was 3733 across 243
Assembly Constituencies, marking a significant increase
since the previous Legislative Assembly elections in 2015,
where the corresponding figure was 3450. The counting
process, held as per strict COVID safety protocols, took
longer than usual. Only seven tables instead of 14 were
allowed in the counting room. The display results from
Control Units were projected on a large screen to avoid
overcrowding by election agents.
The polling percentage excluding postal ballots was
56.93, which was best in the last few Legislative Assembly
elections in Bihar. The turnout was attained despite the
ravages of COVID-19 and monsoon floods. Of enrolled
female voters, 59.69 percentage actually voted. This put
the women's turnout percentage higher than that of
men's at 54.45 percent.
The insights gained from conducting Legislative Assembly
elections in Bihar were significant. Election Commission of
India was now confident of conducting more elections
under permissible COVID-19 conditions. Every year, on an
average, five to six states/UTs in India go for elections to
their Legislative Assemblies. The terms of Legislative
Assemblies in the states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
West Bengal and UT of Puducherry were approaching end
between May 24 and June 8, 2021. It thus became Voters suspected or recovering from COVID-19 were allowed to vote
incumbent upon the Election Commission to conduct during the last hour of polling in full PPE gear

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