RS polls to be held as per plan: EC officials

NEWDELHI: Elections due to be held for 18 seats of Parliament’s upper House, or Rajya Sabha, on Thursday are being held as per schedule as of now amid calls for their deferment in view of the coronavirus pandemic that has prompted the imposition of lockdowns across the country to halt the spread of the disease.

Poll officials in three of the states—Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat—where the polls are being held said they were preparing to conduct the polls by putting in place precautionary measures suggested for halting the spread of the disease.

“They [polls] will happen; no order to postpone them has been issued as of now,” an Election Commission official said on condition of anonymity. Another official echoed him and said the polls have not been cancelled.

As many as 55 RS seats were vacant across 17 states. After 37 candidates were elected unopposed on March 18, polls for the remaining seats in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Manipur, and Meghalaya are scheduled to be held on Thursday.

Madhya Pradesh’s additional chief electoral officer, Arun Kumar Tomar, said, “The elections are on schedule as far as we know...We will ensure the MLAs are seated at a distance of 1.5 metres and only one [person] is allowed to vote at a time.” Tomar added masks and sanitisers would also be provided. Tomar’s Gujarat counterpart, Ashok Manek, too, confirmed the elections are scheduled to be held as of now. “We will take the precautions recommended...”. Rajasthan’s chief electoral officer, Anand Kumar, said the EC would take a final call but they had not been informed of any deferment yet.

The BJP’s Gujarat unit has requested the EC to postpone the elections for four seats in the state. The Congress has opposed the idea and accused the BJP of “buying time” as both parties are locked in a tight contest. The BJP has fielded three candidates and the Congress two.

Two former chief election commissioners said conducting RS elections during this time is feasible if proper measures are taken.

Another former CEC S Y Quraishi said, “The country is in an emergency situation and they (EC) will have to evaluate it and decide whether to hold the polls.”