Fate of 5 states to be sealed in 7 phases

NEW DELHI: A little over a fifth of India’s population will vote between February 10 and March 7 in assembly elections in five states, including the most populous and politically significant Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday.

The elections will take place under the shadow of the third wave of the coronavirus disease — just like the previous set of assembly elections last year happened under the shadow of the second — and both the election watchdog and political parties have signalled that they have learnt from that experience.

The commission has planned sweeping measures to safeguard the polling process, including increasing booths, sanitising voting stations, fully vaccinating all officials (including with booster shots), extending voting hours, and banning all rallies and political processions till January 15 (when this will be reviewed). Given the rising trajectory of the disease, it is likely the ban could last longer.

“There is no need to panic, but only be cautious. Ultimately it is the voter that has to be safe,” said chief election commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra. Any Covid violations will be dealt with by state administrations and disaster management authorities, he added.

The results will be announced on March 10. The election in Uttar Pradesh, definitely the most significant and complicated of the five, will be held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7, with identity politics (religion and caste) likely to be the deciding factor.

The Punjab election will be