NEW DELHI: On a day when the country saw nearly 1.5 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases, the Election Commission on Saturday announced the poll schedule for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur but in a first of its kind move, all physical rallies, road shows and public meetings have been banned till January 15 owing to the pandemic.
The commission said it would review its decision as the "ground situation is dynamic". It urged political parties and candidates to hold virtual rallies. "The candidates should conduct their campaign through virtual mode as much as possible. There will be no nukkad sabhas on public roads and no victory procession after the counting," chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra said.
While the first phase of the polling will begin on February 10, the last phase will be held on March 7 and the results will be out on March 10. Uttar Pradesh will see a seven-phase voting on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7.
In the second phase, UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will vote on February 14. In the third and fourth phase, UP will go to the polls on February 20 and 23 respectively. In the fifth phase, UP and Manipur will go to the polls on February 27 and in the sixth phase, UP and Manipur will go to the polls on March 3. In the seventh phase, UP will go to the polls on March 7.
In Manipur polling will be in two phases, on February 27 and March 3, while Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand will vote on February 14, coinciding with the second phase in UP. The polling time will be increased by an hour, the CEC said.
Explaining the decision to go ahead with the state polls amid the spike in COVID cases, Chandra said holding of timely election was the "essence of maintaining democratic governance".
The CEC said that it decided to go ahead with the polls after detailed discussions with the health secretary, home secretary, experts and health secretaries of the concerned states. He said that the elections in the five states would focus on Covid safety measures to ensure maximum participation.
Chandra asserted that vaccination rates in the five states had improved significantly during the last week after their intervention. He said it was incorrect to link elections with the rise in coronavirus cases and the commission aimed to conduct COVID-safe elections. He said that states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi were recording a higher number of cases but there were no election there.
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The CEC said expediting up vaccination was crucial as the COVID cases continue to rise. So far, 53 per cent eligible population has been fully vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh but the level was lower at 44 per cent in Manipur and Punjab. In Goa and Uttarakhand, the double vaccination level is high at 96 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.
The EC directed all election officials to be doubly vaccinated and said a precautionary dose would also be given to them "to be fully safe". The poll panel had faced flak and even the courts had passed strong remarks against the EC for conducting polls during the West Bengal polls.
(With inputs from Online Desk)