ECI Orders Heightened Vigil Across Borders to Ensure Peaceful, Inducement-Free Bihar Elections

New Delhi, October 31: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday reviewed inter-state border preparedness for the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, directing strict enforcement measures to prevent illegal movement of money, liquor, narcotics, and other inducements.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, chaired a high-level coordination meeting with Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, and Home Secretaries of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, besides senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, and various enforcement agencies.

The Commission reviewed law and order arrangements, with a special focus on bordering districts and the international border with Nepal, to ensure peace and fairness during polling. The CEC underscored the Commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair, peaceful, and inducement-free elections, calling upon all agencies to work in close coordination to maintain the sanctity of the democratic process.

Officials were instructed to enhance surveillance, deploy joint enforcement teams, and intensify checks at inter-state and international border points. Agencies such as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Income Tax Department, Central GST, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) were directed to strengthen intelligence-sharing and maximize seizures based on actionable inputs.

The Commission also assessed the readiness of voter-facilitation measures to ensure a smooth and comfortable voting experience on polling day.

Reiterating the need for seamless coordination, the ECI instructed all states and central agencies to maintain heightened vigilance and take proactive steps to ensure peaceful, transparent, and inducement-free Bihar Assembly elections in 2025.