Bihar oppn asks EC to ensure assembly polls don't trigger spike in coronavirus cases

They also asked the poll body to restrict the number of voters at each polling station to 250 to ensure physical distancing. Earlier in the day, the opposition parties submitted a memorandum to the poll panel drawing its attention to the COVID-19 situation in Bihar, and later on Friday evening held a virtual meeting with the Commission top brass.

Several opposition parties of Bihar urged the Election Commission on Friday to assure voters that the upcoming assembly polls do not become a "super-spreader event" amid the coronavirus pandemic. They also asked the poll body to restrict the number of voters at each polling station to 250 to ensure physical distancing.

Earlier in the day, the opposition parties submitted a memorandum to the poll panel drawing its attention to the COVID-19 situation in Bihar, and later on Friday evening held a virtual meeting with the Commission top brass. Soon after the meet, the Election Commission sought views of all national and state political parties on framing guidelines for political parties and candidates for campaigning "during the pandemic period".

"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the state badly. In capital city Patna, as many as 89 containment zones and over 16 districts have been put under lockdown for another 15 days with effect from July 16," the memorandum stated. The opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal, CPI, CPI(M) and Hindustan Awam Morcha, wondered how the poll panel will ensure physical distancing of at least two yards in a state with a population of around 13 crore and an electorate of 7.5 crore.

"We informed the Commission about the 'serious' ground situation in the state regarding the pandemic. When we were drafting the memorandum, the detected cases stood at 22,000. When the meeting was on the cases went up to 23,000," claimed RJD MP Manoj Jha after the meet. He said the EC was urged to ensure that not more than 250 voters are allowed at each polling station. "Keeping in mind the physical distancing norms and the polling hours, you cannot manage 1,000. You have to get it down to 250 (voters per polling station)," the RJD MP told PTI.

To ensure social distancing, the poll panel has restricted the number of voters per polling station in Bihar to 1,000. Asked whether they appealed to postpone the assembly polls in view of the pandemic, Jha said no such demand was raised.

"We said right to life is also important. In a democracy, an election is a festival. You cannot have barriers and hindrances in the wholesome participation to that festival," he said. The memorandum stated: "People need explicit clarity so that wholesome participation of the majority of voters is not adversely impacted. People also expect the commission to ensure and satisfy the people that entire poll exercise does not become a super spreader event." In a letter to all national and state parties, EC referred to the "current situation of COVID-19 in the country", and several guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, prescribing safety measures to contain it. "Some of the precautionary measures prescribed include compulsory wearing of face mask in public places, social distance, maintaining a prescribed minimum social distance in public places including restrictions on large public gatherings/congregations, thermal scanning at the place of gathering, sanitization etc," the EC letter said.

Keeping in mind the Bihar Assembly polls and some by-elections, the poll panel said that it has decided to seek the views of political parties on the issue. "Accordingly, you are requested to kindly send your views and suggestions latest by July 31, 2020, so that necessary guidelines may be firmed up for the election campaign by candidates or political parties for the conduct of election during pandemic period," it said in the letter to the parties.

In their memorandum, the parties also made a reference to virtual campaigns. It claimed that in an all-party meeting convened recently by the Chief Election Commissioner, the ruling parties had pushed their proposal regarding virtual election campaigns through digital media and prohibiting traditional canvassing methods. "According to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), only a little over half the population has a mobile phone. Only 34 per cent has a smartphone. It will be a travesty of unpardonable proportion to officially legitimise a mode of the election campaign which is not only severely limited by its reach but exclusionary by its design. Almost two-thirds of the electorate will be left out of the process," the memorandum said. "Uncaring about this, the parties in power have kickstarted their virtual blitzkrieg while the Election Commission is yet to fix the limit of expenditure of this virtual political campaign," it alleged.

The term of the current Bihar Assembly ends on November 29 and a new assembly has to be constituted before that..