Bihar elections: Zero tolerance for violence, declares Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

KANPUR: Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar vowed "zero tolerance" toward poll violence and assured that voters in Bihar would cast their ballots freely and peacefully during the two-phase elections.

"Any act of violence will not be tolerated. All voters will be able to vote peacefully, freely and transparently," Kumar said Sunday in Kanpur, a day after EC transferred Patna SP (rural) and took action against three other officers following the killing of gangster-turned-politician Dularchand Yadav during campaigning in Mokama. Kumar expressed confidence that Bihar's polls would serve as "a model election ". "For EC, there is no paksh or vipaksh (ruling or opposition). Everyone is samkaksh (equal) before us," he told reporters.

He said preparations were complete, with 243 returning officers, an equal number of observers, DCs, SPs, police observers, and expenditure observers ready for duty. "I am confident these elections will set an example not only for transparency and capability but also for the festive spirit of democracy," he added.