How is ECI Ensuring Border Security for Bihar Assembly Elections?
 
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Increased vigilance at inter-state borders.
- Collaboration with central agencies for enforcement.
- Focus on preventing voter inducement.
- Strengthening intelligence inputs for security.
- Preparation for a smooth voting experience.
New Delhi, Oct 30 (NationPress) The Election Commission of India (ECI) convened on Thursday to assess the inter-state border readiness for the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections, mandating increased vigilance to guarantee peaceful, free, and inducement-free polling.
The high-level coordination assembly in New Delhi included Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police (DGPs), and Home Department officials from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, and various law enforcement bodies.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, together with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, evaluated law-and-order strategies and instructed officials to enhance scrutiny of the movement of individuals, cash, weapons, narcotics, alcohol, and free giveaways across state borders as well as the international boundary with Nepal.
The Commission highlighted the importance of rigorous monitoring in vulnerable districts and the sealing of borders prior to the elections.
“During the gathering, CEC Gyanesh Kumar reiterated the Commission’s pledge to uphold free, fair, peaceful, and inducement-free elections, urging all stakeholders to collaborate effectively to maintain the integrity of the electoral process,” stated the ECI in its press release.
“The Chief Secretaries and DGPs, along with heads of Central Agencies, were instructed to ensure a peaceful and inducement-free General Election for the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2025,” it further clarified.
The ECI also assessed preparations to assist voters on polling day, directing state and central agencies to provide a smooth and secure voting experience.
Officials were assigned to bolster intelligence gathering, enhance security deployment, and intensify inspections at inter-state border checkpoints.
“The Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, along with the DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), were instructed to maintain heightened vigilance in the regions adjacent to Bihar, with reinforced checks at inter-state posts,” it noted.
Agencies such as the Narcotics Control Bureau, Income Tax Department, CGST, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence were directed to amplify enforcement efforts and maximize actionable intelligence-based seizures in the lead-up to the elections.
With Bihar’s two-phase assembly election on the horizon, this review meeting underscores the ECI’s steadfast position against voter inducement and unlawful cross-border activities, particularly in districts bordering Nepal and neighboring states.
 
                         
                                             
                                             
                                             
                                             
                             
                             
                             
                            