New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will hold a meeting with Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and other senior members of the Health Ministry at 11 am today to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the country in light of the upcoming Assembly elections. five states.
“The Election Commission of India will convene a meeting on December 27 at 11 am with senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare including Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The meeting will discuss the prevailing COVID19 situation for the upcoming assembly elections in five states,” a source told news agency ANI.
The term of the Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur assemblies is set to end in March and that of the Uttar Pradesh assembly in May. It is believed that the Election Commission can announce the dates of elections in these states by next month.
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The meeting took place after the Allahabad High Court urged the Prime Minister and the Election Commission to postpone the elections in Uttar Pradesh by one to two months to prevent the spread of coronavirus and its new version, Omicron, which is highly transmitted.
The Allahabad HC had also requested a ban on political rallies and public meetings.
“If the rallies are not stopped, the results will be worse than the second wave,” Justice Shekhar Yadav said, adding, “Jaan hai to jahaan hai (If there is life, we have the world).
Amidst the speculation of how to conduct elections without giving passes omicron Different in public, some parties are also considering holding virtual rallies and virtual campaigns.
In view of the rising number of Kovid-19 cases, some states have also imposed night curfew including polling UP. While it has become clear that COVID-19 protocols are not followed during elections, and rallies can become a super spreader, the ECI’s decision will define the course of the upcoming elections.
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