Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 8: The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced the poll schedule for five states to be held between February 10 and March 7 with the counting of votes to be taken up simultaneously in all the five states on March 10.
The largest populated state of Uttar Pradesh will see seven-phase polling between February 10 and March 7 while Manipur will have two-phase polling on February 27 and March 3 and the remaining three states of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will go for single phase polling on February 14, the chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra announced in the presence of his two election commissioners. The seven-phase polling in UP will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7.
While the term of the current Uttar Pradesh Assembly is ending in May, those of the other four assemblies are ending on different dates in March.
Chandra said since the elections were to be held amidst COVID-19 surge, the commission planned to implement strict protocols and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure COVID appropriate behavior during all phases of electioneering.
He said the concerned district magistrate and the Chief Secretary would have to take a call and if anyone violated COVID guidelines, the ECI would ban their rallies.
Elections will be held for 403 assembly seats in UP, 117 in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa, said Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra.
No roadshows, padyatras, cycle or bike rallies and processions shall be allowed till 15th January in view of Covid situation. The situation will be reviewed and fresh instructions to be issued later, CEC said. He also said the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect immediately from announcement of the schedules.
It is mandatory for political parties to upload on their website detailed information regarding individuals with pending criminal cases selected as poll candidates and as to why this particular candidate was selected, CEC said.
“We aim to conduct Covid-safe elections in five states with maximum voter participation with extensive preparations. All polling stations will be equipped with Covid-mitigation facilities including sanitisers and masks; Also the number of booths have been increased,” he added.
Replying to a question, he, however, said the ECI would not like to interfere in the presentation of the Budget. “How will the level playing field be disturbed by the Budget?” he asked.
He said in view of the Covid situation, the polling time for all the phases would be increased by one hour. The air time in Doordarshan for political parties have been doubled.
Political parties and candidates are advised to conduct their campaigns virtual and digital modes as much as possible instead of physical mode.
Stressing that no roadshow, bike rally, padyatra, procession would be allowed till January 15, he said no victory celebration will be allowed. Nukkad sabha and street meets are also banned. Only two people would be allowed to accompany the candidate to collect winning certificate. Political parties should provide mask and sanitiser to people attending rally, if they are allowed.
Only five people allowed to take part in door-to-door campaigns. The Commission will not hesitate to cancel and bar parties from further rallies with COVID protocol was not followed, he warned.is not followed.
There were many queries on the issue of COVID protocols. We should have faith that we can pass through this particular pandemic through our COVID measures, the CEC said. He said the decision to go ahead with polls was taken after deliberations with different political parties, officials and security staff. Pointing out that the situation was “dynamic, the CEC quoted the Constitution to emphasise that timely elections were mandatory.
He said all the officials on election duty would be double vaccinated on the lines of the frontline workers and they would be given precaution dose too wherever eligible. “With this, all polling officials will be safe,” he said.
He said the vaccination programme in the poll-bound States would be expediated. “We have spoken to the Chief Secretaries of these States,” he said. Listing the vaccination percentage in the poll-bound states, Chandra said, “More than 15 crore got first dose, more than 9 crore got both doses in the five states.”
Polling booths will be ensured it is a safe area with proper sanitisation.
Stating that targetted intervention would be made on areas where polling was less in the previous years, Chandra said the
Commission would show zero tolerance towards misuse of government machinery for elections. Freebies will not be allowed at any cost. The election expenditure per candidate has been increased to Rs. 28 lakh for Manipur and Goa, and Rs. 40 lakh for the remaining three States.
He encourages people to use cVigil app to report any abuse of election machinery like violation of model code of conduct.
Optional facility of online nomination given to candidates. We would like candidates to use this so that physical contact is reduced, the CEC says.
On candidates with criminal cases, the political party should explain why the person was selected despite criminal records.
The candidate should advertise their criminal record in newspapers, he added.
Explaining the changes in polling station, Chandra said the number of polling stations had been increased by 16% compared to 2017. Maximum number of electors per polling station reduced from 1,500 to 1,250 due to pandemic situation. Some polling stations will be exclusively managed by women and persons with disabilities and each assembly constituency must have at least one exclusively for women polling station, he said.
All stations will be made disabled-friendly. Volunteers will be available to help them. A polling team with polling officials will go to the home of senior citizen electors and they can cast their vote by postal ballot. The process will be videographed.
Chandra said Over 13 crore electors will take part in this elections. Women participation has increased in all these States. “It is an healthy sign” he said and added the gender ratio has also increased in all the States. As many as 24.9 lakh will be first time voters, he added.
Citing the latest surge in Coronavirus cases, the Congress has announced that it would not hold any rallies in Uttar Pradesh and has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to refrain from holding large public events in the state.
Meanwhile, all public meetings and gatherings in Goa will now be limited to 50 per cent capacity for indoor venues and up to 100 people in outdoor venues, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Friday as the coastal state recorded a steep rise in Covid-19 cases.