Nepal-India border points closed for 72 hours ahead of second phase of Bihar polls

MAHOTTARI: The border points along the Nepal-India border have been closed for 72 hours, starting Saturday, ahead of the second phase of the Bihar election.

The border points in several districts, including Sarlahi, Mahottari and Rauthat, have been closed for three days. The Mahottari district alone has sealed its eleven border points with India.

“The election that is scheduled to be held on 11 November in Bihar, from the security point of view, we have halted the movement across the border. All the border points along the Mahottari district have been sealed. It will remain closed from 22 Kartik (8 November) till 25 Kartik (11 November). The border point has been closed from 6 PM yesterday to Tuesday evening till 6 PM,” Sanjay Kumar Pokhrel, Assistant Chief District Officer of Mahottari, told ANI.

Local authorities have also issued a high alert in light of the election in the bordering Indian state.

The District Administration Offices along the border with India issued a statement stating that all cross-border movement, except for emergency cases, will be completely suspended during the border closure period.

The practice of sealing the border for 72 hours during elections, whether held in Nepal or India, has become a standard security measure.
Security personnel from both countries coordinate closely to maintain order during such periods.

The second phase of Bihar elections will take place on Tuesday, and the results will be out on Friday.

A total of 122 constituencies across 20 districts are going to the polls in the second phase of the Bihar election. In the first phase, polling was held in 121 seats across 18 districts.

In this phase, a total of 1,302 candidates are in the fray, 136 (about 10 per cent) of them women. Polling will be held in 45,399 centres, and the number of eligible electors is 3.70 crore — 1.95 crore men and 1.74 crore women.

In the 2020 election, the BJP won 42 out of these 122 seats, followed by RJD (33), JDU (20), Congress (11), and the Left (5). In the 2015 election, when the JDU and RJD were allies, the BJP’s seat tally had dropped to 36, and the JDU-RJD-Congress bloc won 80 out of these 122 seats. (ANI)