Odisha BJD MP Questions Poll Rallies, Says COVID ‘Mismanaged’

Bhubaneswar: BJD national spokesperson Dr Amar Patnaik on Thursday tweeted a video of a crematorium in Gujarat overflowing with bodies and said that it was time to acknowledge the collective mismanagement of the COVID-19 situation in the country.

“When the priority should’ve been caution, we continued with massive election rallies. Our states are bleeding – all states no matter who governs them,” he wrote.

The tweet came a day after Congress’ candidate for by-election to Pipili Assembly segment Ajit Mangaraj succumbed to COVID-19. Before testing positive for the virus on Saturday, he was actively campaigning in the constituency and this had raised concern as contact tracing was nearly impossible in such a case. The BJP with national leaders like Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and national spokesperson Sambit Patra, had held a massive roadshow in Pipili on Tuesday.

The ruling BJD has also been organising poll meetings and gatherings to campaign for its candidate. The virtual rally by BJD president Naveen Patnaik saw huge congregations.

The onset of the second wave of COVID-19 is being linked to the massive crowds at election rallies.

From 208 new cases on March 29, Odisha saw this year’s biggest spike of 3007 on Thursday (April 15).

There has also been a 100-500 per cent increase in COVID-19 active caseload in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, which saw massive election rallies being organised in the last two weeks.

West Bengal, where the eight-phase election, is scheduled to end on April 29, has witnessed an increase in daily COVID-19 caseload from 628 on March 30 to 5,892 on April 14.

Rezaul Haque, Congress MLA candidate from Samsherganj in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, also passed away at a hospital in Kolkata earlier this morning. He too had tested positive for COVID-19.

The BJD leader said that he expects ‘prudence and sagacity’ from the Election Commission of India in these times.

“Some have commented the video is from another state. While the video may be from another state, it only makes my point that it is still from our country. We have forgotten that our country and not just any state is suffering,” he added.