The Election Commission of India has allowed victory processions in all five states - UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur - which held Assembly elections in February-March and where votes are being counted today.
“Viewing the current status of COVID-19 in these poll-going states, the Commission has decided to relax the guidelines on victory processions during and after the counting and has withdrawn the blanket ban on victory processions. However, this relaxation will be subject to existing instructions of SDMA (state disaster management agencies) and preventive measures, imposed by concerned district authorities,” ECI said in a statement.
Counting trends show the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set for victory in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Manipur, with the party comfortably in front in Goa too. In Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath-led government is on course to retain power, with poll trends showing the party leading in 247 seats as against 103 of its nearest rival Samajwadi Party.
Meanwhile, supporters of AAP started celebrating by dancing and distributing sweets as the party swept Punjab elections with an absolute majority.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, supporters of AAP started celebrating by dancing and distributing sweets as the party swept Punjab elections with an absolute majority.
{{/usCountry}}India, on Wednesday, saw a single day rise of 4,184 coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,29,80,067, while the active cases dipped to 44,488, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death toll climbed to 5,15,459 with 104 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.