New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is unlikely to postpone the state Assembly polls due early next year, news agency IANS said quoting sources. The health Secretary on Monday briefed the Commission about the Omicron threat in the country specially in the poll bound states. In the meeting, ECI has asked the Centre to speed up Covid-19 vaccination in poll-bound states.
The commission has also asked the government to vaccinate all those on election duty ahead of the polls. “The goal is to ensure everyone is fully vaccinated at the earliest in poll-bound states,” the commission said.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan submitted a report to the commission according to which the assembly polls in Manipur, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and UP are likely to be held at the scheduled time as mandated by the Constitution. The assembly tenure of UP is due to end in May.
Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Qureshi said, “postponement of elections is out of question and it will be violation of the Constitution and the Commission will take into account all the factors while it may ban rallies,” according to IANS.
A source with the ministry said that the Election Commission and Union Health Ministry discussed the rising number of cases of new Covid variant Omicron across the country with special attention on the states going to polls. Rajesh Bhushan presented a detailed report on the transmissibility of Omicron to the Election Commission.
According to a source, on being asked about the Omicron spread in the next three months, the Union Health Secretary said that this time nothing can be said exactly at the moment. The daily Covid caseload can see around 25 per cent jump in next few months as per the present rate of infections, he said in the meeting. The health officials also detailed the districts where R value has increased, said the source.
The assembly elections are scheduled for five states – Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Punjab in 2022. The dates could be announced in the first week of January, said the source. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and other officials are scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the poll preparedness on Tuesday.
On Thursday, an Allahabad High Court had urged the Centre and the Election Commission to consider postponing the Assembly elections by a month or two and banning all political rallies on account of the Covid situation in the country. When asked about this, Chandra had said that the commission would be visiting Uttar Pradesh soon and “an appropriate decision as required by the situation will be taken after we review it.”
The Election Commission is setting out on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday to review poll preparedness in the state.
(With Inputs from IANS)
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