CEC says all parties in UP want polls on time, despite Covid-19
Despite the rising cases of Covid-19 due to its third wave, all political parties in Uttar Pradesh want the Assembly polls in the state to be held on time with all the appropriate protocols, the chief election commissioner said on Thursday. The Election Commission team which was on a tour of UP for consultations over the coming state elections, said some parties had wanted controls over political rallies and crowds to check the spread of the coronavirus amongst the population.
The parties have also suggested that polling in dense population areas should be conducted in open areas, and an option for postal ballot voting will be given to senior citizens, Covid-infected persons and differently abled people. The list of such people will be shared with all parties. Some parties also raised issues of women’s safety during the campaign and polling while others alleged bias towards the state administration during rallies and expressed concern over malpractices adopted by candidates such as distribution of freebies, liquor and gifts to lure voters.
Briefing the media in Lucknow after the consultations, chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra said the EC will issue detailed guidelines once the elections are announced. He said the election rallies being held now by political parties in Uttar Pradesh and controlling the presence of huge crowds was the responsibility of the state government, and the EC’s role would begin only after the poll dates are announced.
“Our responsibility begins after the poll dates are announced and the model code of conduct is in place. Till then, the responsibility lies with the
state government and they would act as per the recommendations of the state disaster management authority. We have held discussions with the health secretary and other officials and we will definitely issue detailed guidelines once the elections are announced,” Mr Chandra said.
The term of the UP Assembly will end on May 14 and the EC plans to hold elections on time. The Assembly polls for five states are expected to be announced sometime in January 2022. UP has 403 Vidhan Sabha constituencies, out of which 317 are general seats, 84 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes. The poll panel was in the state to take stock of the Covid-19 situation and hold consultations. Apart from political parties, the EC members met district magistrates, police chiefs, commissioners, IGs, DIGs and other officials to review the preparations for free and fair elections.
The EC has asked the state government to ensure all voters have got at least one dose of the anti-Covid vaccine and all frontline polling workers and staff are fully vaccinated before the elections. However, no one will be barred from voting if they were not vaccinated.
The CEC said that in order to prevent a surge in infections after the polls, voting time will be extended by an hour and 11,000 booths will be added to ensure social distancing.
While expressing concern over low turnout in the last two UP polls, the CEC said provisions will be made to increase participation this time. Keeping in mind the safety of women, 800 allwoman polling booths will also be set up.