Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav will meet Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon in Delhi on Tuesday to request him to reschedule the poll dates for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, keeping in mind the festival season.
Sources close to 1, Anne Marg, the official residence of Rabri Devi, Lalu's wife and former Bihar chief minister, said Yadav has already left for the meeting in Delhi.
Yadav said a large section of the electorate, particularly Muslims, would not be able to actively participate in the exercise due to the month of Ramzan which falls at the same time. Similarly, Diwali and Chhath, the most popular festivals in Bihar, come a few days before the third and fourth phase of polling.
The Election Commission has announced a four-phase assembly poll for Bihar, on October 18 and 26 and November 13 and 19.
While in New Delhi, Yadav will also meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and finalise the seat adjustment between the RJD and other United Progressive Alliance partners, including the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Yadav has announced that the UPA partners will contest the election on a common manifesto.
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