Holding Bihar polls will put people at risk: Chirag

New Delhi/Patna, July 10

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), BJP ally, on Friday joined the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in expressing concern over holding the Bihar Assembly polls amid the Covid-19 spread, with its president Chirag Paswan saying it would put people at risk and might result in a very low voter turnout.

Paswan’s comments have again highlighted his party’s rift with its allies, especially the JD(U), which was quick to snub him and asserted that timely elections would be in interests of “good governance”.

The BJP’s response was more guarded as the party said conducting elections was the prerogative of the Election Commission.

In his tweets, the LJP president said, “Not only Bihar, but the entire country is affected by the coronavirus. It has impacted finances of the Centre as well as Bihar. Holding elections amid this will financially burden the state more.”

He added, “The Election Commission should take a decision with a lot of deliberations. It should not happen that a huge population is put into danger. Polling percentage may also be very low if elections are held amid this pandemic which is not good for democracy.”

However, he said his party was ready for the polls.

The state polls are due in October-November. The Election Commission has so far not made any official announcement about the schedule.

A few days ago, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had said it would not be proper to hold the elections during the pandemic as he described the situation in the state as “scary”.

Asked about whether he thought it would be proper to hold elections in time in view of the rising cases of the infection, he had said, “I think it would not be proper. The situation in the state is scary and the people have been left to fend for themselves in the face of the raging pandemic.” Both the BJP and JD(U) have asserted that they were ready for the polls and have been holding organisational meetings.

JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said his party believed that the Election Commission had taken a decision after consultations with all political parties to hold the elections on time.

“The Janata Dal (United) has made its preparations keeping in mind the possibility of the elections being held on time,” he added.

He added that timely elections would be in interests of “good governance and helping Bihar get its due respect on the national stage”.

BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said the EC was already working on modalities to ensure not only free and fare, but also safe elections in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

If the EC is satisfied with situation, then the elections would surely be taking place on time, Anand said in a statement.