PATNA, Sept. 4 -- In the forthcoming state polls in Bihar scheduled in October-November, polling personnel, mainly the presiding officer-1 of each polling station, would be given one kit bag having all the necessary items, forms, stationery and other materials for their convenience, sources in the state election department said. ''We will give a carry bag containing stationery items, seals, tags, envelopes and forms in a waterproof sachet to presiding officers of all polling stations so that they have no hassles in carrying documents and other materials for poll conduct. This is a first of its kind initiative to help polling personnel in doing the poll-related works with ease during the polling day. They do not have to worry about documents getting scattered or being misplaced by any means," said Amit Pandey, additional chief electoral officer, Bihar. Pandey said the kit bag would contain different types of forms including non-statutory forms, voters slips, stationery items including tapes, pens, markers and even match boxes while another container would have seals, tags for completing the documentation process. Apart from it, the additional CEO said a mobile holder would also be provided to the polling personnel as part of the new guidelines that voters would have to submit their mobile phones 100 metres away from the polling station. "The mobile holders are big and would be kept outside the booths where voters would be asked to deposit the phones and keep it in the holders," Pandey said. The process for requisitioning the mobile phone holders and kit bags was underway, sources said. The upcoming polls would witness a massive deployment of six lakh plus polling personnel apart from security personnel in view of the increase in number of polling stations to 90,712 in the state following the rationalisation of booths done recently, as per directives of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The rationalisation of polling stations had led to an increase of 12,817 booths from the previous number of 77,895 booths to ensure that each polling station has a maximum 1,200 voters as against 1,500 voters earlier, sources said. "By an average there would be six polling personnel at the booths including presiding officer-1, polling officer-2 and 3. There are 90,712 booths. So, that way, we have an estimation that around six lakh plus polling personnel would be required, including the reserve polling staff," said a senior election official. He said , there would be also security personnel drawn from para military forces, district armed police and other central forces, which would take the total polling staff to a million. Significantly, the 2020 state polls conducted during Covid had also witnessed big number of polling personnel as the number of voters in each booth had been reduced to 1,000 for maintaining social distance....