If Punjab poll date can be deferred, why not delay this entire round owing to Omicron?

At the outset, let it be made very clear that this write-up seeks to cast no aspersions on the intent of the Election Commission of India, which is an autonomous body established by the Constitution. If anything, it only tries to assess whether the deferment of the Punjab Assembly election date is a case of double standards or even misplaced priority. The point is pertinent because all the major political parties in the fray in Punjab had in one voice demanded that the election date be put off in view of the Guru Ravi Das Jayanti celebrations, which would be celebrated on February 16. They said a large number of people were expected to move from Punjab to Varanasi for participating in the celebrations. The Election Commission acquiesced and has postponed the date to February 20. Now, the development spawns a couple of related questions. One, aren’t the parties clearly in a game of upmanship here to woo the electorate by showing how much they care for the latter’s religious sentiments? And, isn’t the poll panel looking like it is playing into their hands rather than diligently fulfilling its constitutional mandate?

Two, is the issue of celebrating Guru Ravi Das Jayanti, or any other religious or community-based festival for that matter, is of bigger importance than the collective health and well-being of our nation’s people? Because, admit it or choose to ignore it at your own peril, the truth of the matter as bright as daylight is that the Omicron-led third wave of the pandemic is well and truly upon us. Highly transmissible as this COVID-19 variant is, our population is contracting it left, right and centre, as is evident by the skyrocketing number of the people contracted thus far. Also, by the parties’ own admission, lakhs of devotees would travel from Punjab to Varanasi for participating in the celebrations. Isn’t it a logical corollary and real and present risk that they could transmit the highly infectious virus to other, unaffected people on their two-way journey? And if the decision has come about for considerations other than a prominent sect’s religious sentiments, then why not extend the same yardstick to the other four States too that are going to polls in February and March? After all, by any measure, safety and good health for all citizens take precedence any day over a region- and religion-specific demand, isn’t it?