KANPUR — A day after a JD-U candidate was arrested over the killing of a rival party supporter, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday assured a peaceful and transparent Assembly election in Bihar, reaffirming "zero tolerance towards violence".
Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an event, the CEC said: "The ECI has zero tolerance towards violence. Elections in Bihar will be conducted peacefully, lawfully and with complete transparency, ensuring that every voter has the opportunity to express their will and participate in this democratic festival..."
"Hopefully, all electors in Bihar will exercise their right to vote," said CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The first phase of the Bihar election is on November 6, the second phase is on November 11, and counting is on November 14.
Earlier, addressing an event organised by Mathur Vaishya Samaj, Kanpur, he described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls as the world’s biggest exercise for the purification of the voters’ list.
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"The day electoral rolls containing names of 51 crore voters in 12 states get purified, it will be historic and something that has never been attempted in the past," he said.
The CEC said once the SIR is completed in the entire country, "you will feel proud of your ECI and your CEC alike".
CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s assurance about not allowing any violence in Bihar polls came within hours of the state police, in a late-night operation, arresting JD-U's candidate from Mokama, Anant Singh, in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj worker Dularchand Yadav.
The arrest, confirmed by Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikeya Sharma, came just days before the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled for November 6, sending shockwaves across the state’s political circles.
According to officials, the violent incident occurred on Thursday, October 30, near Khushhal Chak in Mokama. Jan Suraaj Party candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, also known as Lallu Mukhiya, was campaigning with his supporters, accompanied by 75-year-old Dularchand Yadav, a local strongman and former RJD leader.
Around the same time, Anant Singh and his supporters were reportedly passing through the same route. An argument between the two groups quickly turned into a violent confrontation involving stone pelting and physical clashes. In the chaos, Dularchand Yadav sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead soon after.
Following his death, the region plunged into tension, with heavy police deployment ordered to prevent further escalation.