1990s were the most violent years in Bihar’s electoral history, that gloomy picture has changed | The Indian Express

1990s were the most violent years in Bihar’s electoral history, that gloomy picture has changed | The Indian Express

Written by Sushil Kumar Modi |Updated: May 8, 2019 7:03:13 am

The writer is deputy chief minister of Bihar

1990s were the most violent years in Bihar’s electoral history, that gloomy picture has changed

The period must have a special mention in the Guinness World Records for registering the maximum number, and probably worst forms, of electoral violence perpetrated in this state.

Booth loot and the consequent re-poll and countermanding of polls had become a norm. Lok Sabha elections were countermanded in Patna twice, in 1991 and 1998.

People living in Bihar shudder at the mere mention of this era. It doesn’t take one by surprise if we were to call the 1990s the darkest phase of Bihar’s electoral history. The period must have a special mention in the Guinness World Records for registering the maximum number, and probably worst forms, of electoral violence perpetrated in this state.