The Election Commission of India has written to chief secretaries of five poll-bound states to ‘accelerate’ COVID-19 vaccination. The poll panel expressed concerns over the low percentage of first dose inoculation in Manipur which is also slated to go to the polls this year.
To assess the preparedness of election-bound states, Election Commission recently visited Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
Reports have suggested that the poll panel may announce the dates for elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab in January 2022.
The term of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly ends in May 2022. While the terms of the legislative assemblies of the other four states end on different dates in March 2022.
Regardless of the COVID-19 surge, the elections to the five states are expected to be held as per schedule. The political parties have been aggressively campaigning in respective states and the rallies and public meetings have witnessed huge gatherings raising the fear of rise in coronavirus infections.
Several health experts have advised the governmnet and Election Commission to postpone the Assembly elections.
In December 2021, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra said that all political parties wanted the state Assembly elections to be on schedule. Chandra assured that the poll panel would ensure that COVID-appropriate behaviour is maintained during the election campaigns and voting after the poll fates are announced.
During their visit to the states, CEC Sushil Chandra, Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey and other poll panel members met state officials and other stakehokders to assess the ground situation in the five states.
Several health experts and the All India Bar Association (AIBA) have requested the EC to defer the upcoming elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand due to spread of Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The new variant of COVD Omicron is fast spreading its tentacle across India. A total of 1,700 cases of Omicron have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far.
