Schedule for assembly elections in five states announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) was along the expected lines on January 8. Voting in Uttar Pradesh will begin on February 10 and will end on March 7 in seven phases. Elections will be held in two phases in Manipur and one phase in Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Considering the size of the states and the deployment of paramilitary forces, the Election Commission has divided voting into seven phases like in the 2017 assembly elections. In the UP elections, the ECI continues its earlier pattern of starting from constituencies in the western part of the state and then moving east. Dismissing reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party has called for phases from east to west, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the elections would be held from west to east and no party had made any representations during the Election Commission’s visit to UP in December. was not demanded. To change this. Agricultural protests have had a greater impact in western UP. The announcement of the election schedule also came with a complete ban on physical campaigning till January 15, as the COVID-19 pandemic was entering its third wave. The ECI is planning to review the situation, including the prevailing positivity rates in the states, before allowing any rallies after January 15.
Till then, candidates and parties have been encouraged to use online methods to reach out to voters, challenging election officials to enforce the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and monitor expenditure. Considering the fact that there are many emotional and controversial issues going on, it is going to be a tough test for the Election Commission. To ensure that the rules of the game are followed by all parties, it must reinforce its objectivity and rigor. Political parties should take special care not only to adhere to the MCC but also to adhere to the additional restrictions related to COVID on campaigning. The ruling parties, both at the Center and in the states, have to bear the additional burden of ensuring that they do not misuse the official machinery to influence elections. Social media has made poisoning a low risk, high reward tool of political campaigns, causing serious damage to social unity and national integrity. The breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security in Punjab took a political turn, but the issue must now be left to the Supreme Court, which has decided to appoint a judicial commission to probe it. Campaign essence and rhetoric would be counterintuitive in a multi-party democracy, but they do not need and should not be socially divisive. Elections should be a celebration of democracy, not a threat to it.
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