New Delhi: Chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra on Thursday said all political parties in Uttar Pradesh want the assembly elections to be held according to schedule while ensuring that COVID-19 protocols are followed.
The number of polling booths will be enhanced and the voting time will be increased by an hour, he said, adding that poll officials will be vaccinated and those eligible will be given a booster dose.
Last year, the second wave of COVID-19 arrived a few weeks after assembly elections in several states were concluded, with experts later attributing part of the blame to heavily attended campaign events.
Last week, pronouncing a verdict in a criminal case, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad high court expressed concerns about political rallies and suggested that, if possible, the elections should be postponed. “It is not possible to observe COVID protocols in these programmes. If this is not stopped in time, then the result will be more frightening than the second wave,” Justice Yadav said.
An Election Commission delegation led by Chandra is on a three-day visit to Lucknow to review preparations for the elections slated to be held early next year. Chandra held a series of meetings with representatives of different political parties as well as state and district-level officials.
Elections are due in Uttar Pradesh by mid-March, when the Yogi Adityanath government’s term ends.
“I have been told that 86% of the people in the state have got the first dose and 49% the second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine… We have been assured that in 15-20 days, all eligible people will get their first dose,” the chief election commissioner said. “We have asked for increasing vaccination.”
The situation arising out of the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus was also reviewed. It has been noted that “there was not much impact of the latest variant in the state where only four cases were reported and three of them have recovered”, Chandra said.
However, India is rapidly recording new cases of the omicron variant. It reported the highest single-day rise of 180 new omicron cases on Wednesday. In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, COVID-19 cases are surging rapidly.
Experts also believe that the omicron variant will become the dominant strain by February 2022 – when the campaign in UP will reach its peak.
There is also now enough evidence to suggest the variant has a high immune escape potential – meaning a previous infection or vaccination may not be enough to provide immunity. However, initial estimates of severity of illness have been lower than in previous outbreaks.
More polling booths
Chandra said because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of polling booths in the state will be enhanced by 11,000 to maintain proper social distancing.
Polling time will also be increased by an hour, the CEC said.
“Earlier, a booth was made for 1,500 voters. But keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of voters in each booth has been reduced to 1,250. Because of this, the number of polling booths has increased by 11,000. So, a total of 1,74,351 polling booths will be set up (in Uttar Pradesh),” he said.
Polling officials will be vaccinated and those eligible will also be given a booster dose. Thermal scanners, masks will be provided at all polling booths and special care will be on maintaining social distancing besides proper sanitisation of booths, he said.
To ensure free and fair elections and to ensure a level playing field, the Election Commission ordered the transfer of officials who have been posted at one place for over a year after various political parties cast their aspersions over this.
Around 5,000 policemen have been transferred and the remaining will be transferred soon, the chief election commissioner said.
There will be 4,030 model polling booths – 10 at each constituency. Also, 800 all-women polling stations will be set up, he said.
For the first time, senior citizens and disabled persons will have the option of casting their votes from their houses, Chandra added.
(With PTI inputs)