Final Decision After Next Week: EC Responds to Allahabad HC’s Appeal to Postpone UP Polls Amid Omicron Scare

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2021: “Next week, we will go to Uttar Pradesh and review the situation there. Then take an appropriate decision,” CEC Sushil Chandra said, a day after AAllahabd High Court urged poll panel to postpone upcoming elections.

New Delhi: A day after Allahabad High Court urged the Election Commission of India to postpone the upcoming Assembly elections and stop poll rallies and gatherings, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that a final decision in this regard would be taken next week. Notably, there has been a growing demand for the postponement of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, scheduled to be held early next year amid concern over the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

“Next week, we will go to Uttar Pradesh and review the situation there. Then take an appropriate decision,” news agency ANI quoted CEC Sushil Chandra as saying.

Earlier in the day, while speaking to reporters, Union Minister Anurag Thakur had stated that the ECI should decide on the conduct of the state elections when it imposes the Model Code of Conduct. “When the Election Commission of India puts the Model Code of Conduct, they have to decide when the elections will take place,” Thakur told reporters.

‘Jaan hai toh jahan hai‘, Allahabad HC to EC, PM Modi

Yesterday, the Allahabad High Court had urged EC and PM Modi to consider postponing the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh by a month or two in the wake of the rising cases of Covid-19 cases caused by the new Omicron variant. Jaan hai toh jahan hai (the world exists only if you are alive),” Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav said while allowing the bail plea of a person named Sanjay Yadav.

Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the HC further requested him to consider stopping rallies, gatherings and postponing the upcoming state elections, taking strong measures in view of the situation of the pandemic. “If possible, consider postponing the election, because rallies and meetings can be held later when we all survive,” the court said.

It added, “The third wave is knocking at our door. We have seen the devastation in the second wave. Many people were infected during the panchayat polls and West Bengal elections. Now the Uttar Pradesh elections are round the corner. Parties are holding rallies attended by lakhs of people where it is impossible to follow Covid protocol. If this is not stopped in time, the results will be more devastating than the second wave. Election rallies of political parties should be banned to save the public from the third wave of corona. Parties should be asked to campaign through Doordarshan and newspapers.”

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to be held in the month of February-March 2022. The tenure of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 14 May 2022. The new assembly should be in place well before then.

The state assembly has 403 Vidhan Sabha seats. A party or coalition needs 202 seats for a majority. Conducted by the Election Commission of India, the UP Assembly Elections continue to be a primary political event of the country. With nearly 403 Assembly Constituency, the State’s Assembly Polls provide a definitive edge to the party at the center. This year the UP Assembly Elections have an added edge. It is also being seen as a major mood assessor for the country’s General Assembly Elections which would be conducted in 2024.