Polls shouldn’t increase Covid cases in Bihar: Opposition to EC

PATNA: Buoyed by the Election Commission’s (EC) decision not to extend the postal ballots facility to people above the age of 65, nine opposition parties from poll-bound Bihar on Friday urged the EC to ensure that the entire electoral exercise does not turn into a Covid19 “super spreader event” for the state already reeling from the pandemic.
In a joint memorandum submitted to the EC, the opposition parties described the situation in the state as “very grim” and said people of the state needed explicit clarity so that wholesome participation of the majority of voters in the state was not adversely impacted.
“The people expect from the commission to ensure and satisfy that the entire poll exercise doesn’t become a super spreader event for the deadly virus,” the memorandum read.
The opposition leaders further said that Bihar has a population of around 13 crore and 7.5 crore of them were eligible to vote.
“We want to know from the poll panel how it plans to ensure physical distancing of at least two yards recommended by the WHO and the ICMR at the polling booths across the state,” the memorandum stated, adding that the situation could be gauged from the fact that as many as 89 containment zones were in Patna alone and over 16 districts in the state have been put under lockdown.
Referring to the virtual election campaign, the opposition leaders said the ruling parties have pushed the proposal on virtual election campaigns through the digital media and prohibiting the traditional campaign methods despite the fact that only 34% of the people in Bihar have a smartphone.
“It will be a travesty of unpardonable proportion to officially legitimize a mode of the election campaign which is not severely limited by its reach but exclusively by its design,” RJD’s Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha said.
The memorandum, which was signed by RJD, Congress, CPI, CPI-ML (Liberation), HAM(S), VIP, LJD and others, said the state was badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the number of positive cases were rapidly increasing day by day. “We request you to review and reassess the situation in consultation with public health experts and other stakeholders, keeping in mind the rapidly worsening situation,” the joint representation said.
On Thursday, the EC amended its earlier order and decided to not to extend the postal ballots facility to the people above the age of 65. The opposition parties had objected to the changes in the rules and urged the EC to withdraw its order.
The assembly elections in the state are due for October-November. The Bihar assembly’s term ends on November 29 and a new assembly has to be constituted before that.