New Delhi: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Punjab election incharge, said on Wednesday his party was ready to hold virtual rallies if the situation so demanded -- a remark that came amid concerns of a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant.
Shekhawat said the BJP also held virtual rallies in West Bengal, where polls were held in March-April.
“The BJP is fully prepared. The BJP did virtual rallies during the West Bengal assembly polls also. And when the political parties across the world were in hibernation, during the first and the second wave of Covid-19, even at that time, BJP workers were reaching out to people through virtual platforms,” Shekhawat said, when asked if his party was ready to hold virtual rallies.
The Election Commission, which is on a three-day visit to poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, recently held a Covid-19 review meeting with Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan. While experts say that large political gatherings may cause localised spikes in infections, the Allahabad high court last week urged the commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider delaying elections or banning large political rallies.
Elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur early next year. Shekhawat was talking to the reporters at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi after several local leaders from Punjab joined the party.
{{/usCountry}}Elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur early next year. Shekhawat was talking to the reporters at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi after several local leaders from Punjab joined the party.
{{/usCountry}}A New Delhi-based spokesperson of the BJP was not available for a comment on a query about whether Shekawat’s remark was the party’s position in all poll-bound states.
Omicron, a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, has led to fresh curbs across the country, including the national capital. The Centre on December 21 asked states and Union territories to step up surveillance and consider steps such as night lockdowns and bans on large gatherings if more than 10% of all tests in a week turn up positive or if the occupancy of hospital beds breaches 40% of the capacity.
Samajwadi spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said: “The Samajwadi Party campaign is going well, including the party president’s rath yatras. SP is getting overwhelming public support. If any decision regarding virtual rallies comes from the Election Commission, then the party will look into it. It will be hypothetical to say anything now.”
Naveen Pirshali, spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Uttarakhand unit, said: “The AAP has always been a responsible party. Unlike the BJP, it has always valued human life above all. Having said that, the party will follow the government guidelines in case of a Covid-19 outbreak and accordingly find appropriate ways to campaign for the assembly elections in Uttarakhand.”
The Union health secretary on Monday reviewed Covid-19 containment measures with officials of the five election-bound states, hours after his meeting with the Election Commission over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and the required arrangements to safely conduct the polls.
Bhushan briefed the election watchdog over the health care system’s preparedness ahead of the polls, saying there was no need for concern as the government was monitoring the situation, people aware of the matter said.
The health ministry said that Bhushan reviewed the vaccination status in the five states and advised them to ramp up the inoculation of all eligible people.
The meeting between Bhushan and the election watchdog was part of the commission’s agenda to keep a close watch on the spread of the pandemic. “This is a preliminary meeting, the commission will continue to do more such meetings to keep a check on the situation,” a person aware of the matter said.