Will be in position to hold assembly elections in 2022, says CEC Chandra

The Election Commission is confident of holding the five assembly polls due early next year, including in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, on time as the poll panel has gained a lot of experience from the electoral exercise in Bihar, West Bengal and four other assemblies amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has asserted.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand are coming to an end in March 2022, while the term of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly is scheduled to end in May.

“That is the foremost duty of the assembly polls due in five states on time due to Covid-19 as recently it has deferred some Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls due to the second wave of Covid-19.

Some Rajya Sabha bypolls and biennial legislative council elections were also deferred due to the second wave of the pandemic.

“As you are aware that the second wave of COVID-19 is also receding and the numbers (of infections) are quite less. We have done elections in Bihar during the pandemic, we have done elections in four states and one UT. We have experience... We have learned various experiences on how to hold polls during the pandemic also,” he said.

“I am very much sure that with the receding pandemic now, and I wish the pandemic is over soon, we will absolutely be in a position to hold elections next year which are scheduled in five states on time, as per the schedule,” Chandra said.

While Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur have Bjp-led governments, Punjab has a Congress government.

Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, has approximately 146.6 million voters, while Punjab has over 2 crore electors, according to January 1, 2021 data of the Election Commission. Uttarakhand has 7.815 million voters while Manipur has 1.958 million and Goa has 1.145 million electors. The five states together have an estimated 178.4 million voters..

We have done elections in four states and one UT during the pandemic. We have the experience.