KOLKATA: When horrified people looking at the humongous political rallies with mask-less supporters in West Bengal a couple of weeks ago wondered if such mobilisation was wise, the prompt reply of politicos was the state’s Covid-positive count was far below that of high incidence states.
The numbers have since climbed with Bengal reporting a daily spike of 12,876 positive cases on Friday, compared to 4,511 on April 12. Within those 11 days, the toll went up four times from 14 on April 12 to 59 on Friday. At least 80 large rallies were held in the state during that period.
On February 26, the day poll panel announced Bengal’s election schedule, the daily positive cases in Birbhum, Nadia and West Burdwan districts were 2, 6 and 10, respectively. Almost a month later, on April 22, the three districts recorded 624, 455 and 596 fresh positive cases respectively, indicating its rapid unspooling in rural Bengal.
Two candidates have so far died of Covid-19 and others like state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been hospitalised. While the Election Commission of India on Thursday, after a stinker from the Calcutta high court, banned roadshows and public meetings with more than 500 people ahead of the last two phases of the ongoing Assembly elections, surely someone should be held accountable for sleeping on the job. “Among other reasons, big political rallies played a crucial role in the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas,’’ said an official of the state health department.