The Election Commission of India seems to have learnt its lesson from last year’s unpleasant experience, wherein unrestricted campaigning and huge public gatherings in some poll-bound states were followed by the second wave of the coronavirus that wreaked havoc across the country and claimed thousands of lives. Though learnt the hard way, it’s better late than never. Sensing a possible repetition of such a situation this time too, the commission has extended the ban on physical rallies and roadshows in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa – that are holding assembly elections between February 10 and March 7 in seven phases, since earlier last month, as a measure to curb the spread of the pandemic amid the onslaught of the third wave triggered by the Omicron variant. The extension of restriction till February 11 means UP will go to the first phase of elections without any physical rallies and the remaining states may face the same if the Covid situation doesn’t improve in the days leading up to voting day. While the candidates contesting in the upcoming elections will face inconveniences interacting with the electorates, the Election Commission’s move to limit large public gatherings is commendable.
In the meantime, the Election Commission has allowed physical public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates in designated open spaces with a maximum of 1000 persons or 50% of the capacity of the ground, whichever number is lesser, starting from February 1. The number of people for indoor meetings and for door-to-door campaigns has also been increased. These relaxations are understandable with the elections set to begin in less than 10 days. However, political parties and candidates should not take advantage of it and risk public health by flouting the rules. They should follow the prescribed SOP and adhere to the crowd size fixed by the authorities. In fact, Covid-appropriate behaviour should be strictly followed during the campaigning, on the election day and thereafter; not only in the five poll-bound states but across the country in order to effectively curb the spread of the virus. The country may be witnessing a declining trend in the number of Covid cases but the battle is far from over, having more than 17.43 lakh active caseload as on Tuesday and continuing to record more than a lakh fresh infections daily. Nagaland state reported its first Omicron case on Monday after 54 of the 152 samples sent for genome sequencing turned out to be that of the variant of concern and 19 were Delta cases. The active caseload continues to pile up in several states, indicating that giving room to complacency could prove disastrous. Poll-bound or not, measures to reduce public health risks should be in place across the country. The second wave taught us that this pandemic can be merciless if we let our guard down. Lessons learnt from previous waves should help us fight the current wave more effectively.