Twelfth largest by geography and third largest by population, Bihar has risen from the ruins of India’s first major empires and the worlds’ earliest university to become one of its fastest growing states. While looking back in history one would find that Bihar was a centre of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India. Even now, it is a nucleus of political power and has a progressive economy, through increased investments, better health care and education facilities, and a diminution in crime and corruption. The state government has made successful efforts in developing the state.

All the states in India except for Jammu and Kashmir have fresh elections every five years and Bihar is scheduled to have their assembly elections tentatively in October/November 2015. To create law and order in the state and to build a local body, elections have been held at regular intervals in accordance with the Indian laws and as approved by the Indian parliament. Bihar has 243 seats in the legislative assembly and has 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. While Lok Sabha elections help to elect the Member of Parliament, the assembly elections help in the selection of the members of the legislative assembly. In the Bihar assembly elections 2010, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government having secured a simple majority of 206.The Janta Dal(United) ruled along with Bharatiya Janta Party as a part of National Democratic Alliance with Mr. Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister. On the 20th of May, 2014 Jitan Ram Manjhi became the 23rd Chief Minister following the Janta Dal United(JDU) supremo Nitish Kumar’s resignation.

The state election commission also conducts elections every 5 years to elect members of Municipal Corporations and other local bodies.

MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IN BIHAR

• Janata Dal United
• Bhartiya Janata Party
• Rashtriya Janta Dal
• Indian National Congress
• Lok Janshakti Party

SOME PROMINENT LOCAL PARTIES

• Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha
• Bajjikanchal Vikas Party
• Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Mazdoor congress
• Janata Party
• Republican Party of India

The Administrative Structure: Bihar is divided into 9 divisions and 38 districts. The state has a bicameral legislature comprising of the Vidhan Parishad, the upper house, The Vidhan Sabha and the lower house.

Issues concerning the State: Being one of the poorest states in India, the people want to cope up with the rising costs, poverty and corruption. The contesting parties, have their prime agenda to alleviate the poor and the people of lower strata of social and economic differentiation and bring about development, good governance and help maintain law and order.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO Bihar)

Who is a Chief Electoral Officer?

The chief electoral officer functions as a state representative for the Election Commission of India. He is nominated by the Election Commission of India (EIC) with the consultation of the administration of a particular State/Union Territory. A Chief Electoral Officer works under the guidance of the EIC and supervises activities pre, post and during elections. His work is to handle the economic as well social aspects related to the elections, which is in terms of ensuring the accessibility of materials such as rubber stamps, ink, EVMs (Electronic Voting Machine), preparing an Electoral Roll and hearing the concerns of political parties, promulgating a holiday as well as keeping security checks. He also ensures the proper functioning of the helpline. He has to be given time to time reports of the ongoing election procedure and after it gets over he decides the date, time and place for the counting process of which he personally takes care of. During the non-election period he manages the process of preparation, revision, correction, transposition and deletion of the candidate on the Electoral Roll.

CEO Bihar

Sri. Ajay Nayak, an IAS officer from the 1984 cadre of Bihar is currently the CEO Bihar or Chief Electoral Officer of the state. He belongs from Karnataka and is a graduate in Pharmacy. He can easily be contacted through the details given below:

Address: 7, Sardar Patel Marg (Mangles Road), Patna – 800015 , Bihar.

Phone: 0612-2217956

E-Mail: [email protected]

Fax No.: 0612-2215611

One can like their facebook page or follow their official Youtube Channel for more updates and information.

THE HIERARCHY: Who comes under whom?

When does one need to contact the CEO Bihar?

If one is facing any problem regarding the filing or submission of forms one can easily contact the Electoral Registration Officer or the Deputy Election Officer. In case one’s queries are not solved, is mistreated, bribed or threatened, one can make a complaint about the same to the Chief Electoral Officer.

THE SPECIFICITIES IN RELATION TO THE VOTER ID CARDS

Why do we require a Voter ID card?

It isn’t a mere piece of cardboard which provides you with the power to cast a vote but also an identity proof that you are a citizen of India. It is a symbol of democracy and republicanism which we cherish in our beautiful nation. It provides you your identity, who you are, where you belong to and gives you the ability to decide the nation’s future.

The Indian Election Commission provides several easy ways to get A Voter card. There are separate forms for different situations under which a voter can register himself. They are given hereunder:

THE FORMAT GIVEN BELOW IS APPLICABLE FOR THE CONDITION UNDER WHICH FORM 6 IS TO BE FILLED WHICH IS, FOR INCLUSION OF ONE’S NAME IN THE ELECTORAL ROLL.

Online Format

How to get a Voter ID card in Bihar?

The EIC (Election Commission of India) team provides the facility under which people after online registration would get their Voter IDs at their doorstep. For further help people can always contact the Official online help portal. For the online registration, one needs to log on to www.ceobihar.nic.in
Apart from being provided with the Voter ID card one would also be provided with the election-related information such as the candidate list of contesting parties, winning and losing party etc. For that one needs to know the exact process of online registration on the Official site which is given hereunder.

Procedure of Registration for Voter ID

First one needs to visit the official CEO Bihar website http://ecicitizenservices.nic.in. Once you have visited the website you need to log in for which you will have to click on the new registration form, where you need to put your legitimate email address, mobile number and also the pin number to complete your registration online. Take the Form no.6 and fill it with the required details but you need to remember that for effective registration, you have to attach all your documents like your residence proof, age proof, id number of any Voter in your family. All the documents should be attested along with your passport size photo. After completion of your work, you need to take the print out of it.

Offline Format

For obtaining your Voter ID card offline you need to know the location of the Electoral office in the assembly constituency which can be obtained from the link http://gis.bih.nic.in/giselection.html. You can obtain the form online by going to the link http://ceobihar.nic.in/forms.html selecting and downloading Form 6 or you can get it from the electoral office.

Write your name, age, sex, Place of Birth and Date of Birth, Address and have a photocopy of size 3.5cmx3.5cm. Don’t forget to write your Electors photo Identity card number, Date of Issue of the card if already registered.

If you are a new user, don’t forget to take your documents of address proof (one is enough) and age proof (one is enough). If you aren’t then any one of the address proof documents is enough. After submission, an officer will come to your address for authentication and receives your signature.

The final procedure

After completing the process of registration either online/offline an officer from the Electoral Office will come to your residence to check if all the information given by you is correct. For that you have to be physically present with required documents at the time of verification from door to door by the officer. After the verification process is complete, the officer would provide you with a particular date on which you will have to reach the given center and collect your Electoral Card. Since it is a long term process it will take at least 2 months time for your card to be issued but you will not face any problem in colleting it. In case you find that the information provided in your card is wrong you can make changes accordingly by visiting the official site again which is http://eci-citizenservices.nic.in.

OTHER COMMON FAQ’S

How to get one’s name corrected in the Voters list?

For getting your name corrected on the Voters list you are to visit this website http://www.bihar.gov.in/election. Read the second option from the top and download the form for making the required changes. Then fill it, take it’s print out and submit it in the office of the CEO or you can also fill the form online. The form looks like this:

How to apply for a duplicate Voter ID card?

Again, you will have to visit the website http://www.bihar.gov.in/election and read the second option from the bottom of the given list. A form is required to be filled online or downloaded, filled and submitted in the office of the CEO Bihar.

How to check one’s name in the voter list?

A simple solution to this would be to visit the website http://ceobihar.nic.in/searchinroll.html and go through the given procedure as per their convenience. The page would look like this

Can one be enrolled at more than one place?

No. A person cannot be enrolled as a voter in more than one place in the same constituency or in more than one constituency in view of the provisions contained under Sec. 17 and 18 of R. P. Act, 1950.

What is the procedure for obtaining certified entry of Electoral Roll?

After the publication of Rolls you can obtain a copy of the certified entry by approaching the ERO concerned. You will be required to deposit some money and thereafter the ERO will issue the required certificate.
For knowing one’s booth location one has to visit the site http://ceobihar.nic.in/Procedures.html and also can check the same for any other queries because it is the official website of the CEO of Bihar.

THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR GETTING VOTING RIGHTS IN BIHAR

• Section 19 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA)-1950 allows a person to register to vote if he or she is above 18 years of age and is an ‘ordinary resident’ of the residing constituency i.e. living at the current address for 6 months or longer.

• Section 20 of the above Act disqualifies a non-resident Indian (NRI) from getting his/her name registered in the electoral rolls. Consequently, it also prevents an NRI from casting his/her vote in elections to the Parliament and to the State Legislatures. However, if an NRI has not acquired the citizenship of any other country, is otherwise eligible to be registered as a voter and who is absenting from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to his employment, education or otherwise is eligible to be registered as a voter in the constituency in which his place of residence in India as mentioned in his passport is located. For further information on this matter one can refer to this online file: http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/nri/FAQ.pdf

• Mentally challenged persons and the persons on whom Criminal Charges, ‘Corrupt Practices’ or offences relating to elections are registered cannot vote.

• A person should not have been registered with his name in any other constituency. I.E. No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll in more than one constituencies (Section 17 ibid).
So if you really want Bihar to progress at the same or even at a faster pace than before and if you are eligible to vote then go press the button and decide the future of your state.