Election Commission extra vigilant ahead of polls amid rise in Omicron cases

On Thursday, EC held its second meeting with health secretary Rajesh Bhushan and a meeting with the home secretary to take stock of the situation amid the rise in Omicron cases across the country

The Election Commission, widely criticised for its management of the last round of assembly elections which were held around the time the second wave of the coronavirus disease pandemic was emerging, is taking no chances as it prepares for upcoming elections across five states.

Elections are due to be held in March in the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

Nor are political parties, which came under fire during the last round for large rallies and road shows.

On Thursday, EC held its second meeting with health secretary Rajesh Bhushan and a meeting with the home secretary to take stock of the situation amid the rise in Omicron cases across the country. On Thursday, the number of new Covid-19 cases in India crossed 100,000 for the first time since early June.

And the Congress has called off its rallies in Uttar Pradesh, UP’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath cancelled a large rally planned for Noida, the Bhartiya Janata Party has deferred many large rallies including one to be addressed by the Prime Minister in the state, and the party’s Goa unit has opted for door-to-door campaigning instead of any large events.

People familiar with the matter said EC, headed by chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and comprising election commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey, discussed with the health ministry, the status of the pandemic in the poll going states, including the positivity rate and the percentage of the population vaccinated. Elections are due to be held in March in the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. The follow-up meeting with the health secretary saw a discussion around improving the vaccination numbers of the poll-bound states.

“The states are intensifying the vaccination process,” one of the people cited above, who works in EC, added on condition of anonymity.

“Discussions on rallies did take place and the panel will take some decisions on them as well as new Covid-19 guidelines,” a second person, aware of the meeting, said.

This person said the meeting involved health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, AIIMS head Dr Randeep Guleria and Indian Council of Medical Research chief Balram Bhargava. “The health ministry gave the panel the exact position in five states. They said UP has vaccinated 88% of the eligible population with the first dose and 52% with the second, and the positivity rate was 0.2% which is quite low. Only 32 Omicron cases have been confirmed so UP seems quite safe,” this person said.

The panel asked an official from Manipur, where vaccination rates have been among the lowest in the country, to ramp up the drive. Health officials also told the commissioners that symptoms were mild.

After the meeting with health officials, the panel also met home secretary Ajay Bhalla for strict implementation of the National Disaster Management Authority guidelines

The plans are likely to include a new set of Covid guidelines, covering campaigning, the actual voting process, and the counting of votes. These guidelines, which could include a cap on the number of people allowed to attend public meetings (this was set at 500 during the latter part of the campaigning for the West Bengal assembly elections) are expected to be announced along with the poll dates.

“We have conducted polls earlier during the pandemic and ensured utmost safety,” the first person added. “Similar guidelines will be followed during these elections.”

Most political parties are expected to focus on digital or door-to-door campaigns. At best, there could be small gatherings, HT learns.

“All public meetings stand cancelled due to a rise in Covid 19 cases,’’ said BJP chief in Goa Sadanand Shet Tanavade, adding, “We will focus on small gatherings.’’

The election body has already issued certain Covid-19 directions to all states, including writing to the chief secretaries to expedite vaccination; increasing the number of polling stations; and reducing the number of people who will vote in each booth.

Earlier this year, EC courted controversy throughout the eight-phase Bengal election, beginning with the prolonged duration of polls, to not conceding to the opposition’s demands to club the last three phases in view of the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases. An FIR was also filed against the EC for culpable homicide by the wife of a TMC candidate who died of Covid-19.

Polls were held as scheduled in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry.

The Commission came under the scanner of various High Courts, with the Madras HC saying that poll officials should “probably be booked for murder” . It also asked the EC to file a detailed blueprint of measures to ensure Covid safe counting, which the EC submitted.

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