[rkg]

Driven across 9 states for 7500 Km from March 21st to April 14th . Stopped intially in karnataka and also in Maharashtra for first three days, after wards no one bothered to stop me or check in UP, Bihar, MP, Jharkhand, Orissa, AP, WB.
In Bhopal,MP state police even asked me to go through one way routes, when enquired about directions.

[pgupta]

As planned started for the Coorg trip via mysore on 16th April evening from Bangalore. I was expecting routine checks during the road travel due to the elections on 17th but there was no checks throughout. Also the roads had less traffic so all in all it was a nice and uneventful drive to the destination.. the kind which we all like .

[rahul4640]

Gentlemen,
I shall be travelling to Agra from my hometown of Calcutta during this upcoming Durga Puja/Dussehra festival. I shall be driving my own car (a small sedan), accompanied by my wife and daughter. Due to certain unavoidable circumstances and few prior commitments I am being compelled to drive through the state of Bihar on the morning of 16th. But now I have come to find out that almost all the stretch of the road (NH-2) in Bihar through which I shall be travelling is going to polls on that very day (districts of Gaya, Aurangabad and Rohtas).

In this context I shall like to know from the esteemed members of this forum what should be the documents that I must carry. Beside all the car related documents, is the driving license and electoral voter’s cards sufficient proof of our identity? Should I also carry the PAN card of me and my wife? Shall I carry the fee book of my daughter’s school to prove her identity?
Is there any chance of the security forces or the police blocking the highway and denying us entry? Is there any other chance of confiscating our ID proofs?

Knowledgeable members are earnestly requested to please share their opinions.
Warm regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

In this context I shall like to know from the esteemed members of this forum what should be the documents that I must carry. Beside all the car related documents, is the driving license and electoral voter’s cards sufficient proof of our identity? Should I also carry the PAN card of me and my wife? Shall I carry the fee book of my daughter’s school to prove her identity?
Is there any chance of the security forces or the police blocking the highway and denying us entry? Is there any other chance of confiscating our ID proofs?

Knowledgeable members are earnestly requested to please share their opinions.
Warm regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

I have no experience with Bihar, but I have traveled in Maharashtra, TN and Gujarat during elections and it is a breeze with usually no traffic.
Yes there are police check posts and they do stop for "documents", and check cash (are you carrying sacks of bank notes) and contraband (liquor).

So if you have all the vehicle docs (license, RC, pollution, insurance) and all personal docs (ID cards) no one can do any harm.

They may bother you with why you are not casting your vote (so carry your Voter ID as the ID+residence proof).


Now coming to the other aspect: please check the previously held election days in Bihar - has there been violence in past? (I have no idea). Better stay out if there is a history.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by alpha1

I have no experience with Bihar, but I have traveled in Maharashtra, TN and Gujarat during elections and it is a breeze with usually no traffic. Yes there are police check posts and they do stop for "documents", and check cash (are you carrying sacks of bank notes) and contraband (liquor).

Thanks for your suggestion. I shall only carry a modest amount of money with me and strictly no alcohol.

Originally Posted by alpha1

So if you have all the vehicle docs (license, RC, pollution, insurance) and all personal docs (ID cards) no one can do any harm. They may bother you with why you are not casting your vote (so carry your Voter ID as the ID+residence proof).

Sure. I shall do the same. Hope my daughter will be spared as she is a minor. I may only produce the fee book and the class diary of her school.

Originally Posted by alpha1

Now coming to the other aspect: please check the previously held election days in Bihar - has there been violence in past? (I have no idea). Better stay out if there is a history.

Sorry I do not have any idea. I only pray that the main highway will be spared from violence or agitations.

[lucifer1881]

Having driven extensively through Bihar just last week, I can share my experience here. I drove from Varanasi to Darjeeling via Sasaram, Ara, Patna, Begusarai, Purnea and Kishanganj. Then from Siliguri to Bodh Gaya via the infamous Bihar Sharif, and then Bodh Gaya to Satna.

The only inconvenience was a police check-post cropping up every 100-150km or so. Got stopped 4-5 times in a day's drive of approximately 550km. There was no such checking on the GT Road.

So I would say, chill. Be cautious, but there is no need to be paranoid. Listen to that feeling in your gut while driving. If the gut says take a halt at the nearest hotel, then do so. Otherwise, carry on.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Be cautious, but there is no need to be paranoid. Listen to that feeling in your gut while driving. If the gut says take a halt at the nearest hotel, then do so. Otherwise, carry on.

Thanks. I shall definitely keep your suggestion in mind. I also have noted the locations and the phone numbers of a few suitable hotels, which are suitably placed on my route.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I am being compelled to drive through the state of Bihar on the morning of 16th. But now I have come to find out that almost all the stretch of the road (NH-2) in Bihar through which I shall be travelling is going to polls on that very day (districts of Gaya, Aurangabad and Rohtas).

Try to drive in those parts, either before 8 AM or after 5 PM on the polling day. Avoid travelling on that particular day if you can.

I would not advise passing through areas which are having polling on that particular day. You might be stopped anywhere & maybe harassed.

At least in Bihar, vehicle movement is banned completely and not even 2 wheelers or public transport runs. Its a blanket ban on the day the poll is conducted.

And other points-
# Carry all papers.
# Make sure, there are no sun-films
# Do not carry cash in the car exceeding Rs. 50,000 [in total, irrespective of passengers]
# Wouldn't advise carrying alcohol as well.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Gentlemen,
I shall be travelling to Agra from my hometown of Calcutta during this upcoming Durga Puja/Dussehra festival. I shall be driving my own car (a small sedan), accompanied by my wife and daughter. Due to certain unavoidable circumstances and few prior commitments I am being compelled to drive through the state of Bihar on the morning of 16th.

Rahul da, last year in December, I had to travel with my family to Patna from Ranchi on the polling day in Jharkhand. I won't say that I was harassed but was stopped at multiple points and was asked to open the boot and the police officials checked the luggage. If I recall correctly, I was stopped at 4 or 5 points, last being the border of JH and Bihar. Other than that, it wasn't much of a hassle. However, that was a poll day in JH, so Bihar experience could be different. If you must travel, avoid carrying too much cash, of course, alcohol, and other items that may raise eyebrows of the officials. Sheel has given good pointers above of what not to carry and do carry all papers in original.

Regards,
Saket.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Avoid travelling on that particular day if you can. I would not advise passing through areas which are having polling on that particular day. At least in Bihar, vehicle movement is banned completely and not even 2 wheelers or public transport runs. Its a blanket ban on the day the poll is conducted.

Thanks Sheel for your nice advice. I have now decided to defer my journey by a day. Unfortunately for this very reason I have to curtail (reduce) the duration of my holiday trip by a day, as due to prior official engagements my return schedule is already fixed.

Originally Posted by saket77

Rahul da, last year in December, I had to travel with my family to Patna from Ranchi on the polling day in Jharkhand. I won't say that I was harassed but was stopped at multiple points and was asked to open the boot and the police officials checked the luggage. If I recall correctly, I was stopped at 4 or 5 points, last being the border of JH and Bihar. Other than that, it wasn't much of a hassle. However, that was a poll day in JH, so Bihar experience could be different.

Thanks for sharing your experience. But my friends say that an election in the state of Bihar is different from an election in any other state. I shall better wait at a hotel in JH-Bihar border and shall proceed on the following day, after the election is over.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by alpha1

I have no experience with Bihar, but I have traveled in Maharashtra, TN and Gujarat during elections and it is a breeze with usually no traffic.
Yes there are police check posts and they do stop for "documents", and check cash (are you carrying sacks of bank notes) and contraband (liquor).

Thanks Alpha. Though I may not be at all considered an alcoholic, I made sure than no alcohol was on board.

Originally Posted by saket77

Rahul da, last year in December, I had to travel with my family to Patna from Ranchi on the polling day in Jharkhand. I won't say that I was harassed but was stopped at multiple points and was asked to open the boot and the police officials checked the luggage.

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Having driven extensively through Bihar just last week, I can share my experience here. I drove from Varanasi to Darjeeling via Sasaram, Ara, Patna, Begusarai, Purnea and Kishanganj. Then from Siliguri to Bodh Gaya via the infamous Bihar Sharif, and then Bodh Gaya to Satna.
So I would say, chill. Be cautious, but there is no need to be paranoid. Listen to that feeling in your gut while driving. If the gut says take a halt at the nearest hotel, then do so. Otherwise, carry on.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Try to drive in those parts, either before 8 AM or after 5 PM on the polling day. Avoid travelling on that particular day if you can.

Thanks gentlemen for all your input. Though I called up a Bihar police official on the day prior to my journey and was assured that the highway (NH-2) will be kept open, I was not much convinced. I even stopped at a roadside tea stall some two KM before the Bihar border and watched the vehicular movement for maybe five or ten minutes. But no one stopped me at the border or asked anything, although there was heavy presence of security personnel on the road. Possibly the presence of two female members (wife and daughter) helped. While driving I could even see people lining up at the roadside polling centers for casting their votes. Traffic was possibly less than usual. Very few private vehicles were on the road but surprisingly truck traffic was moving freely.

It is only when we were going to cross the bridge on river Son, I was once stopped at a checkpoint by two young fellows in uniforms. They opened the rear door, where my daughter was sleeping occupying the back seat, took hold of a plastic shopping bag containing some dry food and looked inside. I was asked to open the luggage compartment, which contained two suitcases and one small plastic bag containing some spare footwear. They opened none of them and I was allowed to leave in less than two minutes. They did not even bother to see my driving license or any other ID.
Thank you once again for your concerns,
Rahul,
North Calcutta.

[SanjayDalal]

Last Sunday 29th Nov 2017, I was returning from Saputara in our Feb 17 model Honda BRV (white colour). We had driven from Mumbai via Nasik. But due to many bad stretches Nasik onward, decided to return via Valsad, Gujarat since we were told that the roads are better and more scenic. My wife and two teenage daughters were with me.

On SH5 ( somewhere before Vapi) , I was stopped at a police checkpost and asked to show my driving licence. They asked my name, address and mobile no. and wrote it down along with my car licence place no. in a register. They showed no interest in the luggage in the car.
When I asked them the purpose of all this, they said that " Elections are coming up"

Now should I be worried (my car has MH plates) that my car could be requisitioned for election duty? ( even though it is an 'out of state car' for them?

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by SanjayDalal

When I asked them the purpose of all this, they said that " Elections are coming up"

Now should I be worried (my car has MH plates) that my car could be requisitioned for election duty? ( even though it is an 'out of state car' for them?

I can not say that they won't send requisition for your car but chaces are very less. Because of

1. Lack of jurisdiction over MH RTO.
2. Plenty of vehicles are available within Gujarat itself.
3. They were just entering details of vehicles crossing the checkpost. ( They have to report the details of vehicles checked by them to their superiors).

However, I was also planning a quick weekend road trip to Silvassa, also booked the hotels but the trip is now most prabable to be cancelled due to my election duty .

While I was looking for some HC Judgements related to the issue, I came across a recent judgement by Gujarat HC(Link). The election comission had to apologise for the inconvenience caused to the owner of the vehicle.

It says that :

1. Luxury cars are not to be requisitioned for election duty.
2. Before requisition, it is to be made sure that the owner has more than one vehicle.



Cheers!!

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by SanjayDalal

On SH5 ( somewhere before Vapi) , I was stopped at a police checkpost and asked to show my driving licence. They asked my name, address and mobile no. and wrote it down along with my car licence place no. in a register. They showed no interest in the luggage in the car.
When I asked them the purpose of all this, they said that " Elections are coming up"

Now should I be worried (my car has MH plates) that my car could be requisitioned for election duty? ( even though it is an 'out of state car' for them?

During election times, they typically check for movement of money/gold. I have been asked to open my bags during election time in Andhra Pradesh.

This is not for requisitioning the car, in these areas at least.

[SanjayDalal]

Originally Posted by Ry_der

I can not say that they won't send requisition for your car but chaces are very less. Because of

1. Lack of jurisdiction over MH RTO.
2. Plenty of vehicles are available within Gujarat itself.
3. They were just entering details of vehicles crossing the checkpost. ( They have to report the details of vehicles checked by them to their superiors).

Thank you for your reply. I do feel a bit relieved.
But does anyone know how many days prior to the actual election dates do such vehicle requisitions start taking place? and when they finish?

Secondly, is it safer to use National Highways vs State Highways ( in case someone has to make an interstate journey for some emergency?)