With a similar time period for elections to five states in 2017, the Election Commission of India has taken the unprecedented step of banning all road shows and physical rallies till January 15 and will review the matter. On the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, it seems that the Election Commission has learned a lesson from the West Bengal elections.
“The physical rallies and road shows will be reviewed after January 15 as the situation is dynamic and we do not know whether the pandemic will intensify or subside,” Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said in the announcement. election date On the day when 1.41 lakh Kovid-19 cases were reported daily in the country.
Chandra said the election expenditure limit was raised two days ago to focus on digital campaigning and parties are being advised to campaign in virtual and mobile modes instead of physical mode. Monitoring will be done by State Disaster Management Authority and Central Supervisors.
Uttar Pradesh Like in 2017, polling will be held in seven phases, from February 10 to March 7, starting from western UP to eastern UP. Manipur In 2017 polling will be held in two phases on February 27 and March 3. Uttarakhand, Goa And Punjab Polling will be held in a single phase as in 2017 but on the same day, February 14. The election results of all the five states will be declared on Thursday, March 10.
The Election Commission has also directed that all election officials will be doubly vaccinated and given a precautionary dose to be “completely safe”. The CEC said the polling time would be extended by one hour.
Several experts have predicted that the peak of the third Covid-19 wave could come in late January or early February and cases could continue to rise till then.
vaccination important
The CEC said that expediting vaccination will be important as voting will take place in February. So far, 53% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh, while in Manipur and Punjab the level is less than 44%.
In Goa and Uttarakhand, double vaccination levels are high at 96% and 83% respectively. The Election Commission said it has asked polled states to increase vaccination so that more people can be double-vaccinated soon.
learn from west bengal
The Election Commission had banned roadshows and public gatherings of more than 500 people in the last two phases of West Bengal elections in April 2021, as the number of Covid-19 surged during the second wave. The Election Commission noted that the political parties and candidates did not follow the prescribed safety norms during public functions.
Earlier, on April 16, 2021, it had banned all publicity between 7 pm and 10 pm and extended the silence period to 72 hours for the remaining phases, but refrained from banning road shows and rallies. Did. The Election Commission had accused the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) of implementing COVID-appropriate protocols.
Now that the Election Commission has banned rallies and road shows from the very beginning, it seems that the Election Commission has learned its lesson from the experience of West Bengal. CEC Sushil Chandra said on Saturday that if rallies and road shows are allowed in the elections in these five states after review, the SDMAs will implement the prescribed COVID-19 guidelines.
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