BALLOTS, BACKLASH AND BATTALIONS: BIHAR TURNS INTO ELECTION BATTLEFIELD

As Bihar heads for a high-stakes two-phase election, legal battles, security build- up, and party rebellions have turned the state into a political pressure cooker.

- SAMBHAV SHARMA/ SHAILENDRA KUMAR

As Bihar heads for its two-phase Assembly election on November 6 and 11, the state’s political and administrative temperature is climbing—fuelled by legal scrutiny, massive security deployment, and unrest within major parties.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) told the Supreme Court that the final electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had been notified, asserting that most additions were new voters. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, sought clarity on whether the new entries included names previously deleted amid concerns over large-scale removals.