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Election rallies in Bengal: EC seeks feedback from poll officials on feasibility
This comes amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the country which has led to the many parties demanding that public rallies be suspended and the remaining phases [in West Bengal] be clubbed into one
The Election Commission of India (EC) has sought feedback from poll officials in West Bengal regarding the feasibility of allowing election rallies, a person familiar with the matter said. This comes amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the country which has led to the many parties demanding that public rallies be suspended and the remaining phases [in West Bengal] be clubbed into one.
A person familiar with the matter said, “Every state is different...The Commission has already effectively suspended campaigning for the eighth phase. And today is the last day for campaigning for the sixth phase. EC will hear from officials in the state.”
The last three phases of West Bengal elections are scheduled for April 22, April 26, and April 29 respectively. The Commission has already extended the silence period from 48 to 72 hours, in view of the rising cases, thus not allowing any campaigning between the seventh and the eight phase. It has also banned public meetings and road shows between 7pm and 10am.
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Among the political leaders to call off rallies in view of the rising cases are TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. While Banerjee has decided to do away with big rallies in Kolkata and has reduced their duration too, Gandhi has suspended all his Bengal rallies in view of the Covid surge.
CPIM has also opted for door-to-door campaigning in place of massive rallies.
The EC has come under fire from political parties across the spectrum for not clubbing the remaining phases into one. Officials, however, said the suggestion was not feasible as the date of notification and withdrawal were different for the sixth, seventh and the eighth phases.
On Sunday, the state recorde 8,419 fresh cases and 28 deaths. Banerjee has repeatedly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of bringing in “outsiders”, causing the rise in Covid cases across the state. Her party had also asked the EC to club the remaining phases together.
Home minister Amit Shah, however, took to Twitter to respond to the demand. “Constitutionally, the EC has no other option but to conduct elections. Mamata Ji makes comments without reading the Constitution,” Shah said on the BJP’s Twitter handle wrote on Monday. “Every candidate has to be a given a specific number of days for campaigning since filing nomination. We cannot curtail that.”
