The Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar on Saturday urged the Election Commission to ensure that during the upcoming Assembly election, the identities of women wearing veils are checked against the photographs on their voter ID cards.

Addressing the media after a meeting with a team of the poll body led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, state BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said: “We urged them [Election Commission] to ensure that facial identification of ‘parda nasheen’ women [women wearing veils] is carried out by female officials against the photographs on their voter ID cards.”

Jaiswal said the measure was necessary to ensure that genuine voters can exercise their franchise.

The Election Commission, which is on a two-day tour of Bihar, on Saturday engaged in discussions with representatives of recognised political parties ahead of the election dates being announced.

Commenting on the BJP’s demand, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s leader in the Lok Sabha Abhay Kushwaha alleged that it wanted to “push its own agenda” during the meeting with the Election Commission, PTI reported.

“This is a political conspiracy,” Kushwaha alleged, according to the news agency. “Only recently has the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls been carried out. New EPIC cards are to be issued to all voters with fresh photographs. Identification of voters is no big deal.”

Jaiswal on Saturday also urged the Election Commission to complete the poll process in one or two phases. He contended that if the election is held in several phases, the expenditure of the candidates increases, and the functioning of government institutions is hampered.

Kushwaha said that the Rashtriya Janata Dal also demanded that the Assembly election should be held in not more than two phases, as “not much time is left [for expiry of the term of the current Assembly]”, PTI reported.

The term of the 243-member Bihar Assembly will expire on November 22, and the election process needs to be completed before that date.

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