New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced that the bypolls due for 64 Vidhan Sabha seats, including Balasore Sadar and Tirtol in Odisha, and one Lok Sabha seat will be held simultaneously with Bihar assembly elections.
The two assembly seats in Odisha fell vacant following the death of Balasore Sadar BJP MLA Madanmohan Dutta in June and BJD Tirtol MLA Bishnu Charan Das in July.
“Considering that General Assembly Elections of Bihar is also due and required to be completed before November 29, 2020, Commission has decided to conduct all the 65 bye-elections and the General Assembly Elections of Bihar around the same time,” the release issued by the ECI read.
It further said that the schedule for the elections and by-elections will be announced at an appropriate time.
The ECI made the announcement after reviewing the reports and inputs from Chief Secretaries/ Chief Electoral Officers of the concerned states, seeking deferment of the bye-elections in view of several factors, including heavy rains at some places and other constraints like the COVID-19 crisis.
On August 28, the Supreme Court had declined to entertain a petition seeking postponement of the Bihar assembly elections till the state became free from the COVID-19 pandemic.