Election Commission mandates paid holiday for Bihar voters

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday said voters in Bihar, where polls will be held in two phases next month, are entitled to paid holidays on polling days, and employers who contravene this legal provision can be fined.

It added that voters in eight assembly constituencies across various states, where bypolls are being held on November 11, are also entitled to a paid holiday.

“As per section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking, or any other establishment, and entitled to vote at an election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State/UT, shall be granted a paid holiday on the day of poll,” the EC said citing legal provisions.

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It underlined that there will be no deduction of wages on account of such a paid holiday.

“Any employer who contravenes these provisions shall be liable to a fine,” it cautioned.

All daily wage and casual workers are also entitled to a paid holiday on election day, it said.

The commission noted that electors, including casual and daily wage workers, who are working or employed in industrial or commercial establishments located outside their constituency but are registered as voters in a constituency going to polls, will also be entitled to the benefit of a paid holiday on the day of the election to enable them to cast their vote.

The EC has asked concerned states to issue necessary instructions for strict compliance with the provision.

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