Virus takes political toll as nation goes to the polls
▶ Ruling BJP loses vote in West Bengal while government officials hold talks with Pfizer about expediting approval for its Covid-19 shot
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a major electoral defeat in a vote held as the country fights against a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress party won more than 200 seats in the 294-seat assembly and the BJP took 77, according to results published by the Election Commission of India yesterday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted the BJP would win more than 200 seats in the state.
The BJP’s opponents won in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while the ruling party retained power in the north-eastern state of Assam and gained the federally controlled territory of Puducherry, where it contested in alliance with a regional party.
Mr Modi congratulated Ms Banerjee yesterday, but said his party made gains in the state.
Grim scenes of full crematoriums and the families of Covid-19 patients pleading for oxygen overshadowed the runup to the election.
India’s daily death toll hit a record 3,689 on Sunday and health authorities have reported more than 300,000 new cases of Covid-19 for 12 consecutive days.
Arati Jerath, a political analyst in New Delhi, said the surge in cases played a part in the BJP’s defeats in the polls.
“As three strongly anti-BJP regional leaders have emerged victorious, they are likely to be the nucleus of the opposition challenge to Modi in the months ahead,” Ms Jerath said.
The election results are a blow to the government and indicate there are “huge political and constitutional challenges ahead for Modi”, she said.
The elections were held as the country tackles a deadly second wave of infection. On Saturday, 12 patients, including a doctor, died when a hospital in the capital New Delhi ran out of oxygen – the third such incident in the past 10 days.
Shortages of beds and medical supplies at major hospitals across the country have put India’s underfunded healthcare system under intense strain.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government told the courts and the federal government that his state had only been allocated 490 tonnes of oxygen a day, about half of what it needed.
The BJP wanted to use the elections to expand its presence in the east and south, areas where it has been struggling to gain traction.
The victory for the party in Assam, where a citizenship act led to protests, could further embolden the government to introduce the legislation across the country. The act eases the path for non-Muslims from neighbouring countries to gain citizenship.
But the ruling party failed to unseat Ms Banerjee, one of the most outspoken critics of the BJP’s agenda.
As the party faced election challenges, the government expanded India’s vaccination programme. On Saturday, authorities announced that people between the ages of 18 and 44 were eligible to receive a shot.
India is the world’s biggest producer of vaccines, but efforts to inoculate people older than 45 had been stuttering.
Since January, 10 per cent of the population have received one dose of vaccine, but only about 1.5 per cent have received both doses.
US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which developed a shot with German company BioNTech, is in discussions with the Indian government to find an “expedited approval pathway” for its vaccine.
Pfizer announced it would donate more than $70 million worth of medicine to India.
“Unfortunately, our vaccine is not registered in India, although our application was submitted months ago,” Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said on LinkedIn.
The severity of the crisis in India prompted several of countries to introduce travel restrictions for people who planned to return from India.
Australia yesterday defended its decision to bar citizens and residents from returning to the country if they have been in India within 14 days of the date they intend to return home.
Australia said it had a “strong, clear and absolute” belief the restriction was legal.
Direct flights from India have been banned until May 15 and Health Minister Greg Hunt said the measures were necessary owing to the surge in India.
Australia, which has largely contained the disease, closed its borders to non-citizens in March last year.
“It’s a high-risk situation in India,” Mr Hunt said.
The Australian Human Rights Commission criticised the restrictions and urged politicians to review them.
The commission said it would raise its concerns with the government directly.
People who return to Australia from abroad must enter quarantine at a hotel for 14 days. The country has recorded fewer than 30,000 cases since the pandemic began.
Three strongly anti-BJP regional leaders who emerged victorious are likely to be the nucleus of the opposition
ARATI JERATH
Political analyst