Patna: The Bihar government has announced special casual leave for state government employees who are registered voters in the Legislative Council constituencies going to polls on October 23.
The decision has been taken ahead of the Bihar Legislative Council elections for eight seats. An order has been issued by the General Administration Department to facilitate voting by eligible government employees.
However, the leave will not be available to all state employees. Only those whose names appear on the electoral rolls of the concerned Legislative Council constituencies will be eligible for the special casual leave.
Voting to Be Held in Eight Constituencies
Polling on October 23 will be held for four Graduate and four Teacher constituencies of the Bihar Legislative Council.
The constituencies going to polls are:
- Patna Graduate
- Tirhut Graduate
- Darbhanga Graduate
- Kosi Graduate
- Patna Teacher
- Tirhut Teacher
- Darbhanga Teacher
- Saran Teacher
The elections involve special electorates rather than the general voting population, with registered graduates and teachers voting in their respective constituencies.
Who Will Get the Special Leave?
The government’s order makes the eligibility for the leave clear.
State employees who are registered voters in the concerned Legislative Council constituency can avail themselves of the special casual leave on October 23 to exercise their franchise.
Employees whose names are registered in another constituency, or who are not voters in any of the eight constituencies going to polls, will not be covered by the special leave provision and will be required to attend their offices as usual.
152 Candidates Remain in the Fray
A total of 164 nomination papers were initially filed for the eight seats.
Following scrutiny, 12 nominations were rejected, leaving 152 candidates in the electoral contest.
Of these, 90 candidates are contesting the four Graduate constituencies, while 62 candidates are in the fray for the four Teacher constituencies.
12 Nominations Rejected During Scrutiny
During scrutiny, eight nomination papers from the Graduate constituencies were rejected.
These included four from Patna Graduate, three from Tirhut Graduate and one from Kosi Graduate.
Among the Teacher constituencies, four nomination papers were rejected — three from Patna Teacher and one from Darbhanga Teacher.
The scrutiny process has now finalised the list of candidates contesting the eight seats.
Polling on October 23, Counting on October 27
Voting for all eight Legislative Council seats will take place on October 23.
The counting of votes will be conducted on October 27, when the results of the elections are also expected to be declared.
With 152 candidates remaining in the contest, campaigning is expected to intensify ahead of polling day.
Special Leave Aimed at Facilitating Voting
The special casual leave provision is particularly relevant for government employees whose workplace and polling location are in different places.
By allowing eligible state employees to take leave on polling day, the government has made arrangements to enable them to participate in the electoral process.
The benefit, however, remains restricted to employees who are registered voters in the respective Legislative Council constituencies.
