Security personnel check a car in front of them on October 11, 2025 in Patna. | Photo credit: ANI
The Election Commission on Wednesday said liquor, drugs, cash and other gifts worth ₹33.97 crore have been seized in Bihar since the schedule for the October 6 assembly elections was announced.
Elections to the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The votes will be counted on November 14.
The EC said in a statement that expenditure watchers have already been deployed to monitor election expenditure incurred by candidates. They will also meet with all the spend tracking teams.
Flying squads, surveillance teams and video surveillance units are working around the clock to monitor any suspected cases of money power or other inducements being used to influence voters.
Online update
The probe body said the commission has also activated an online system called Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) for real-time reporting of wiretapping/seizures conducted by surveillance teams and law enforcement agencies during the election period.
Ramps and braille slides
In a separate statement, the EC said it has directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to ensure that the electoral process is accessible to persons with disabilities (PwDs). All polling booths in the state should be located at ground floor or road entry level and should have ramps with proper slope for the convenience of PWD and senior citizens in wheelchairs.
It said that disabled voters and senior citizens should be given priority in polling stations. To help the visually impaired, the commission focused on issuing accessible Braille ballots along with regular ballots.
These facilities should be available in each of the 90,712 polling stations in Bihar, the EC said. Additionally, as part of another initiative, 292 polling stations will be managed exclusively by persons with disabilities.
Published – 15 Oct 2025 20:35 IST
