In the midst of a Covid-19 surge, the election commission (EC) on Saturday announced dates for Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand. The EC disallowed physical political rallies, roadshows, padyatras, cycle and bike rallies till January 15 when it will review the Covid situation.
Voting for the high-stakes Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be held in seven phases, starting from the western part of the politically crucial State on February 10 and moving eastwards. Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will vote on February 14 while elections in Manipur will be held on February 27 and March 3. The counting of votes for all five States will be held on March 10.
Announcing the election schedule with a strong focus on digital and virtual modes of campaigning, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that no physical political rallies, nukkad sabhas, cycle and bikes rallies, and roadshows will be allowed till January 15. “Situation to be reviewed and fresh instructions to be issued later. The Commission will not hesitate to bar parties from further rallies if Covid protocol is not followed,” Chandra said. He said parties and candidates have been advised to conduct their campaigns on virtual and digital modes as much as possible.
In Uttar Pradesh, voting will take place in 58 Assembly constituencies, covering 11 western districts, out of the 403 seats in the first phase on February 10. The second phase to be held on February 14 will cover 55 seats, the third phase of voting will cover 59 seats on February 20, while the fourth phase polling will be for 60 constituencies on February 23.
The fifth phase on February 27 will also cover 60 seats, while 57 constituencies will go to vote in the sixth phase on March 3 and the remaining 54 seats in the last and seventh phase on March 7.
Punjab (117 seats), Uttarakhand (70 seats) and Goa (40 seats) will have single-day voting on February 14, coinciding with the second phase of polls in UP. For Manipur, the poll panel has decided to conduct voting in two phases — 38 seats on February 27 and 22 seats on March 3 — coinciding with fifth and sixth phases of UP polls.
In all, elections will be held for 690 Assembly seats, and 18.3 crore people, including 8.5 crore women, will be eligible to cast their votes in the five States. For the first phase of seven-phased elections for five States, the notification will be issued on January 14, nominations can be filed till January 21 for scrutiny till January 24, while nominations can be withdrawn till January 27. The polling will take place on February 10. For the second phase, the notification will be issued on January 21.For the third phase, the notification will be issued on January 25 while the fourth phase schedule will have the notification issuance on January 27. The fifth and sixth phase notification will be issued on February 1 and 4 while the last phase notification will be issued on February 10.
Out of the 5 poll-bound States, the BJP is in power in 4 States, including Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh and it is making a big push to capture Congress-ruled Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party is also emerging as an important player. In the politically important Uttar Pradesh, voting will start from the western region and move towards the east over seven phases.
While the tenure of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly ends on March 15, that of the Punjab House ends on March 27, Manipur on March 19, Goa March 15, and Uttarakhand on March 23.
Speaking about the challenges posed by the Covid resurgence, he said the situation is very dynamic and nobody can predict Covid numbers of a future date. Chandra said, “It is not correct to link elections with the rise in coronavirus cases, and the commission aims to conduct Covid-safe elections with a focus on hassle-free experience for voters and maximum voter participation”.
He said booster doses will keep the polling staff safe. The vaccination rates in the States going for polls are high, Chandra added. He also assured voters that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure “Covid safe” elections and said they should come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise as polling booths.
The EC said that it has asked chief secretaries of the poll-bound States to expedite the vaccination drive. “More than 15 crore have got first dose, more than nine crore have got both doses in the five States,” Chandra said.
Chandra said that in view of the Covid situation, the maximum number of electors at each polling station has been reduced from 1,500 to 1,250 and total number of polling stations has been increased (by 16 per cent) to 2,15,368. “All polling stations will be equipped with Covid-mitigation facilities, including sanitisers, thermal screening and masks,” Chandra said. He added that all booths will have fewer than 1,000 voters an average. The poll panel chief said that all Covid positive voters as well as those over 80 years of age and people with disabilities can cast their votes through postal ballots.