Election Commissions Prepare for Bihar Assembly and Bangladesh National Polls with Training and Timelines

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated preparations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including a two-day training program for over 280 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from Bihar, representing 10 recognized political parties. The training, held at the India International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi, aims to enhance grassroots participation by political parties. This is the first-of-its-kind training program for BLAs. In Bangladesh, the interim government has set a timeline for the next national election, with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus stating that the election cannot go beyond June under any circumstances. Law Adviser Asif Nazrul emphasized the government's commitment to holding the election as early as possible within the timeframe of December 2025 to June 2026. The Election Commission of Bangladesh is also preparing for the national election, with Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar announcing that a detailed action plan is expected to be released by June or July. The EC is currently working on changing the administrative names of constituencies and finalizing the voter list. Additionally, the EC is planning to start the procurement of essential papers and printing materials early to avoid last-minute delays, with an estimated requirement of 170,000 reams of paper at a cost of around Tk 36 crore.