The Election Commission of India will discuss the current Covid19 situation in 5 poll-bound states including Manipur with senior officials of the Union health ministry on Monday.
A media report quoted sources as saying that the Election Commission will discuss the current Covid19 situation in the poll-bound states and seek updates on the new Covid19 variant Omicron from Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
The EC is likely to seek suggestions from the senior health officials on improving the Covid protocols for poll campaigning, polling days and other related matters.
Assembly polls are due in 5 states – Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Punjab in 2022 and the poll schedule is likely to be announced in the first week of January, sources said.
It has been reported that the Chief Election Commissioner and other officials are scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the poll preparedness in the state on Tuesday.
On Thursday, an Allahabad High Court bench urged the government to consider the decision to postpone the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh for a month or two and ban all political rallies amid rising Covid19 cases on daily basis.
On Sunday, India reported a total of 6,987 new positive cases within 24 hours.
The country reported 162 more deaths taking the total toll to 4,79,682.
The Omicron infection tally stands at 422 and a total of 17 states have reported the new Covid19 variant, according to the Union health ministry data.