Assembly polls: Amid Omicron scare, EC to hold talks with health ministry tomorrow
The meeting will discuss the prevailing Covid situation for upcoming Assembly elections in five states
PremiumAssembly elections: The Election Commission of India will convene a meeting on Monday with senior officials of the Ministry of Health including Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The meeting will discuss the prevailing Covid situation for upcoming Assembly elections in five states, news agency ANI reported Sunday.
Assembly elections are due in five states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur.
Earlier this week, the Allahabad High Court urged the central government to stop political rallies from being held in election-bound states amid rising cases of the new Omicron variant of Covid.
A Bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav said the number of patients infected with Omicron are increasing and there is a possibility of a third wave. Countries like China, Netherlands, and Germany have imposed complete or partial lockdowns due to the rising cases, the bench said.
The court further added that during the second wave, the country saw lakhs of people getting infected by Covid and many people had died contracting the disease. It also said the gram panchayat elections in UP and Bengal Assembly polls also contributed to a rise in infections that led to many deaths due to Covid.
The court observed that as the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are nearing, all the political parties are mobilising lakhs of people by holding rallies and meetings where it is not possible to follow Covid protocolsin any way.
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