Patna, Oct 4 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday called upon Bihar political parties to augment ECI efforts to boost transparency, even as state leaders suggested that the next Assembly elections should he held immediately after the Chhath festival to increase turnout.

The discussions took place at a meeting organised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with all recognised political parties in the state to discuss issues related to the upcoming Assembly elections and electoral rolls, an official said in a statement.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioner Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Election Commissioner Dr Vivek Joshi, appealed to voters to experience the transparency in elections and reminded political parties to nominate their polling agents at every booth.

The ECI officials also discussed logistics, voter accessibility, the Model Code of Conduct, and other electoral procedures with the participants.

During the dialogue, representatives of recognised parties sought a minimal number of phases for the upcoming elections to pick a new 243-member Assembly.

The representatives of political parties also suggested that elections should be held immediately after the Chhath festival to increase voter participation, said a statement.

While appreciating the ECI’s measures to increase transparency and purify electoral rolls through Special Intensive Revision (SIR), representatives of political parties also welcomed its decision to set a maximum number of voters per polling station at 1,200, said the statement.

An ECI official said that representatives of political parties backed several recent initiatives taken by the ECI, such as the counting of postal votes.

As of now, the ECI has yet to announce the official dates for the Bihar elections. However, with the final electoral roll published on September 30 listing 7.42 crore registered voters after a drop of over 47 lakh since June, the stage appears set for formal poll notification in the coming weeks.

A maximum of three representatives from each party were invited to attend the discussion. The participants included leaders from the BJP, JD(U), RJD, Congress, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, RLSP, BSP, AAP, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, and the National People’s Party.

On Sunday, the Commission will meet District Magistrates, Superintendents of Police, and election officers to review ground-level preparations and law enforcement measures. Discussions will also focus on curbing electoral malpractices and ensuring transparency, said the statement.

–IANS

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