New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) Bihar will elect a new 243-member assembly during staggered month-long polling that begins Oct 21 and ends Nov 20, the Election Commission announced Monday.

Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi told reporters here that the dates of polling would be Oct 21 (47 seats), Oct 24 (45) and Oct 28 (48) as well as Nov 1 (42), Nov 9 (35) and Nov 20 (26 seats).

The vote count will take place across the state Nov 24, he said.

About 55 million people will be eligible to vote in the country's third most populous state. The total electorate was put at 5,50,88,402.

Quraishi said that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) would be deployed in all the 56,943 polling stations.

The election will be overseen by thousands of officials, including those deputed to the Election Commission, besides thousands of security forces.

The top official said that the model code of conduct would come into immediate effect.

He said the Election Commission took into consideration all relevant factors including the climatic condition, academic schedule and law and order situation before deciding the polling dates.