The Election Commission of India has announced its detailed schedule for holding elections to five State Assemblies in February and March. As per the declaration, polling in three states of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa, besides in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh coincide with Valentine’s Day. It does not mean that the election process shall have any bearing on the celebrations by some on this occasion but puts an added responsibility on the police and administration for ensuring that disruptive elements, who have chosen the day in the past, to take law in their own hands to punish young couples, are effectively checked. It also implies that no alcohol can be served as per the guidelines of the Election Commission on this day and two days prior to that. This is of course on a lighter note, but seriously speaking, the ECI shall have to be extremely vigilant, as always, throughout the next two months, with both the Covid cases on the rise and the aggressive posturing by political parties in the fray. It is evident that the Chief Election Commissioner, Sushil Chandra has adopted a cautious approach and at his press conference on Saturday, asserted that the unfolding situation would be monitored every week.
Conduct of elections is a very difficult job and therefore, all stakeholders should assist the Commission in having peaceful, fair and incident-free polling. It goes without saying that maximum number of people should exercise their franchise and the Commission needs to be complimented that it has made special arrangements for senior citizens above 80 years of age, the disabled, and voters afflicted with Covid. This is going to be the first election in the history of the county where rallies, public meetings etc have been banned in the interests of the people at large with the emphasis being on virtual campaigning.
However, some smaller parties have raised the question of lack of resources that would come in their way of virtual meetings and have urged the Commission to sort out this matter to provide a level playing field for all the players. It shall also be a challenge for the poll body to monitor social media, where hate or provocative messages could be sent to vitiate the atmosphere and influence the outcome. The Commission has sent out a strong signal that it means business and shall have zero tolerance for those who flout the guidelines. It has asked candidates who have criminal cases registered against them to declare the status at least three times during the campaign period in print media or on TV channels. Similarly, political parties have been asked to come out with the list of those who have criminal cases or antecedents and also explain why it had become necessary to give them tickets. The number of phases has been reduced in comparison with the 2017 Assembly polls and it is not surprising that all the seven phases would witness polling in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country. Manipur would have two phases while the remaining three shall have polling on a single day. Elections are the celebrations of democracy and therefore political parties should not lose sight of this underlining reality and cooperate fully with the ECI.