The Election Commission has reactivated its economic intelligence panel after a gap of six years to curb the use of money, liquor and drugs to influence voters ahead of the Bihar polls.
The Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence (MDCEI) met here on Friday for the first time since 2019 to fine-tune the strategy of enforcement agencies and central police forces to prevent the use of money power and freebies to sway voters in poll-bound Bihar.
The committee was formed in 2014 ahead of that year's general elections.
Officials said the committee met ahead of polls between 2014 and 2019, but did not do so formally thereafter. Agency and security forces' heads had been meeting to strategise steps to check money power. On Friday, they met on a bigger scale.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were present at the meeting.
The committee includes 17 departments -- Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indire

Election

The Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence (MDCEI) met here on Friday for the first time since 2019

Press Trust of India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch his campaign for the Bihar assembly polls next week, with as many as four election rallies scheduled by the end of this month, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference here, Jaiswal said Modi will kick off his campaign with a rally in Samastipur on October 24, followed by another election meeting in Begusarai the very same day.
"The PM, who is among the world's tallest leaders, will visit Karpoori Gram, the birthplace of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, in Samastipur district, and pay his tributes to the former Bihar CM before addressing his first rally. His second rally will be in Begusarai in the afternoon," he said.
Jaiswal said the PM will be back in the poll-bound state on October 30, when he will be addressing rallies in Muzaffarpur and Chhapra, the town where Saran district is headquartered.
"The PM's rallies are also scheduled on November 2, 3, 6 and 7. Details of these will be shared in due course

Modi, Narendra Modi

Addressing a press conference here, Jaiswal said Modi will kick off his campaign with a rally in Samastipur on October 24, followed by another election meeting in Begusarai the very same day

Dynasts continue to dominate Bihar's political landscape, with a considerable number of candidates being either sons, daughters, wives or close relatives of established politicians.
Experts say that no party in Bihar can claim moral superiority on this ground as far as dynasts entering politics is concerned.
The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14.
Prominent sons, daughters and wives, who are in the fray, from different political parties are RJD's Tejashwi Yadav (younger son and heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad) from Raghopur, BJP's Samrat Choudhary (son of former minister Shakuni Choudhary) from Tarapur, RJD's Osama Shahab (son of gangster-turned-politician, the late Mohammad Shahabuddin) from Raghunathpur.
Also in the fray are Rashtriya Lok Morcha's Snehlata (wife of party chief Upendra Kushwaha) from Sasaram, BJP's Nitish Mishra (son of former CM Jagannath Mishra) from Jhanjharpur, 

Polling official, EVM, election

Experts say that no party in Bihar can claim moral superiority on this ground as far as dynasts entering politics is concerned

The JMM on Saturday announced that it will contest the Bihar assembly polls independently, and said the party would review its alliance with the Congress and RJD in Jharkhand after the elections in the neighbouring state.
Addressing a press conference, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said the party will field candidates in six seats in Bihar.
Elections to 243 seats of the Bihar assembly will be held on November 6 and November 11, and the votes will be counted on November 14.
The party has decided to contest the Bihar polls on its own. It will contest six assembly seats  Chakai, Dhamdaha, Katoria (ST), Manihari (ST), Jamui and Pirpainti (SC), Bhattacharya said.
These seats will go to polls in the second phase on November 11.
The JMM had on October 11 communicated to INDIA bloc leaders that the party would take its own decision on contesting the Bihar polls, if a respectful number of seats was not allocated to it by October 14. The JMM had demanded 12 seats for the polls 

Hemant Soren, Hemant

Elections to 243 seats of the Bihar assembly will be held on November 6 and November 11, and the votes will be counted on November 14

The NDA has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the BJP and Janata Dal (United) set to contest 101 constituencies each

Chirag Paswan, Chirag, Paswan

CEC Gyanesh Kumar says over 100,000 officers deployed for Bihar's voter list revision, last done in 2003; voters can submit documents till July 25 and during Claims & Objections phase

New Delhi Election, Election, Vote, Voting

Business Standard

While the EC insists that the Special Intensive Revision of the voter list is aimed at ensuring electoral integrity, critics argue that it risks disenfranchisement among Bihar's marginalised groups

While EC calls Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision vital for electoral integrity, opposition parties and civil society say it risks mass disenfranchisement among the state’s poor and marginalised.

A special revision of Bihar's electoral rolls has triggered a political storm, with concerns over voter deletion, citizenship proof, and impact on the poor and marginalised

Elections, voting, Lok Sabha elections

Congress and its allies accuse the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections, demanding that it not act on the ruling party's behest

Opposition slams EC over special intensive revision of electoral rolls

In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front

Police investigate a bomb explosion site in Kaliganj, WestBengal. The incident occurred after the result for the seat was declared, with TMC emerging victorious in the bypoll | Photo: PTI

Voting held on June 19 for bypolls to five Assembly seats - Kadi, Visavadar (Gujarat), Nilambur (Kerala), Ludhiana West (Punjab), and Kaliganj (West Bengal); counting is underway

Ahead of polls, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar nearly triples social pension to ₹1,100, benefiting over 10.9 million people

Nitish Kumar, Nitish

The constituencies where voting is currently underway are Ludhiana West in Punjab, Kaliganj in West Bengal, Nilambur in Kerala, and Kadi and Visavadar in Gujarat

Bypolls underway in five Assembly seats across four states amid tight security

Election, Maharashtra Election, Maharashtra Polls, Vote, Voting

ECI announces bypoll schedule in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal; mobile deposit rules and 100-meter canvassing restrictions to ensure smooth polling

ECI, election commission of india, election commission

Political leaders feel alliances in Tamil Nadu are binding in Puducherry as well, and that is both a blessing and a bane

voting polls evm machine

A new controversy has gripped Bihar over the Election Commission’s recently announced Special Intensive Revision.

Ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, the Election Commission’s special revision of electoral rolls has led to over 35 lakh names being struck off.

The BJP is just one step away from achieving a rare milestone - 100 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, has officially declared it will contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections alone. Watch the video to know why.

Assembly polls in Delhi will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Tuesday.

Election Results 2025: Check out the latest updates on election results, exit polls results, news and more on Business Standard. Explore more for the latest news on Assembly & Lok Sabha elections, opinion polls, Highlights, videos and more.

Election Results 2025, Lok Sabha Election News, Opinion Polls & Exit Poll Results Highlights | Business Standard

Check out the latest updates on election results, exit polls results, news and more on Business Standard. Explore more for the latest news on Assembly & Lok Sabha elections, opinion polls, Highlights, videos and more.

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