The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday reviewed the Covid-19 situation with the Union Health Secretary and health experts and emphasised the need for vaccination of all eligible people in five poll-bound States. In a separate meeting, the poll panel also discussed the law and order situation in the five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur - with Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla ahead of the announcement of the poll dates in the next few days .
Besides Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, the meeting to assess the Covid situation was also attended by AIIMS director Randeep Guleria and ICMR's Balram Bhargava, sources aware of the interactions said. Bhushan and other health experts briefed the poll body on the present situation. This is the second time that when Bhushan briefed the top officials of the EC on the emerging Covid situation in the country and poll-bound states in particular.
According to sources, the EC is preparing to tighten Covid-19 guidelines for the upcoming assembly elections including bringing in stronger accountability.
In the separate meeting, the poll panel also discussed the law and order situation with Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.The meeting in the law and order situation assumes significance in the backdrop of the security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Punjab on Wednesday.
The poll panel carried out a "complete review" of the Covid status in five states and took inputs from medical experts on "safety measures to be ensured" during campaigning and polling. It stressed to the health secretary the need to ensure complete vaccination for all eligible persons, the sources said.
In an earlier meeting with Bhushan on December 27, the poll panel had asked him to ramp up the vaccination drive in the five states. Several health experts have advised the government to postpone the Assembly elections and doubts were raised as to whether elections should take place amid a surge of COVID cases after the Allahabad High Court observations urging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the poll body to postpone the assembly polls and ban rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
After deliberating with all stakeholders and representatives of all political parties in the state, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra on December 30, 2021, had stated that representatives of all political parties, who met him during his visit to Lucknow, have said that the Assembly elections should be conducted on time following all Covid-19 protocols. The Chief Election Commissioner’s statement came as a clear indication that there will be no postponement of the elections in the poll-bound states.