KOCHI: In two days, ballots will tell the way Kerala voted. In normal times, all debates, be it in newsrooms or on the street, would be dominated by the expectations about the result. But then, these are unusual times, nor is the state looking at the D-Day with the same zeal as it did five years ago.With the rate of Covid transmission going up alarmingly, leaders of political parties in Ernakulam have instructed their supporters to adhere to Covid protocol strictly.
Top leaders of major political fronts admitted that the vicious second wave of the pandemic has indeed dampened the spirits of party workers. They said candidates, as well as party leaders, are now busy drawing up the list of people who will be entrusted with various tasks on the counting day. As the Election Commission has made the Covid-19 test mandatory for counting agents, parties are drawing up plans to get workers tested.
“Of course, the Covid-19 spread has affected the spirit of a section of the workers. Polling was held on April 6, and the workers were waiting for the results eagerly. However, the situation soon changed, and by the third week of April, the state has seen an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases. Except for the counting agents, others will have to watch the results on their TV,” said Hibi Eden, MP, who is in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. Congress has instructed its candidates to make sure that there will be adequate numbers of agents on all counting stations. There are 14 counting centres in Ernakulam, one for each assembly constituency. A front needs a total of 22 people for a counting station.
Meanwhile, the CPM has already selected the counting agents, and the party district secretary has given clear instructions to workers get the Covid-test done before attending their poll duty. “We have clearly instructed our cadre to follow Covid protocol strictly,” said CPM district secretary C N Mohanan.BJP will conduct Covid-test for its counting agents on each constituency.
“We are organising a small camp for Covid tests at each mandalam (zone) for the party workers who will be on duty at the counting stations. Most of our workers are involved in social service for the past few weeks as the front line workers. They are exhausted. But, they are also eager to be a part of the counting procedure,” said C G Rajagopal, who is the NDA candidate of Kochi.
No victory celebration
No victory procession after the counting of votes on May 2 is permissible given the surge in Covid cases, Collector S Suhas has said. “Not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorised representative to receive the certificate of election,” he said.