Omicron In India: Will UP Elections Be Postponed?

Lucknow: Keeping in mind how assembly elections in some states during April-May had added fuel to the fire triggered by the COVID-19 second wave and an impending Omicron-triggered third wave in India, there is speculation over whether polls in Uttar Pradesh, due around February-March 2022, will be pushed back.

Even Allahabad High Court requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to explore the option of postponing the UP assembly elections, Bar and Bench reported.

The high court, while granting bail to one Sanjay Yadav, observed ‘Jaan hain toh Jahaan hain’ (if people are alive, country is alive).

Single-bench judge Justice Shekhar Yadav advised the PM and ECI to take a decision on postponing the election and political rallies.

“Election rallies of political parties should be banned to save the public from the third wave of Corona in the assembly elections to be held in UP. They should be asked to campaign through TV and newspapers. ECI should take strict steps to stop the election meetings and rallies of the parties. Also consider postponing the election, because only if there is life, the world is meaningful,” the high court said.

Justice Yadav also expressed apprehensions about large gathering within court premises.

“There is no social distancing and there might be a possibility of third wave because of the new Omicron variant,” he observed.

“During the second wave, we have seen that lakhs of people have been infected with corona and died. The elections to the gram panchayat and the elections to the Bengal Legislative Assembly infected a lot of people and led to a lot of casualties,” the court recalled.