Page 214 - Leap of Faith inside pages with cover (1)

Leap of Faith Journey of Indian Elections

prohibited. There were sugges ons from some quarters cau on and prudence in fulfilling its mandate. The
to merge the remaining three phases into one. The experience and insight gained from conduct of elec ons
sugges on, however, was not found feasible. in numerous states during pandemic would hold Elec on
Commission in good stead.
The West Bengal elec ons ended on April 29. The overall
voters' turnout crossed 80 percent. The coun ng of votes
for all states/UT took place on May 02, 2021. The
coun ng took place in 2364 halls, as compared to 1002
halls in 2016, to maintain social distancing norms. The
Elec on Commission had issued specific direc ons for
RT-PCR tests on all coun ng agents. Only those tested
nega ve were allowed. The Commission designated 822
Returning Officers and more than 7000 Assistant
Returning Officers for the purpose of coun ng in five
states/UT. Around 1100 Coun ng Observers were
deployed to watch the process of coun ng.

When the elec on schedule was announced on February
26, 2021 nobody suspected the COVID-19 cloud to loom
large over the country. However, during the last four
phases in West Bengal it became a serious challenge. The
Elec on Commission responded to the situa on, and
addressed people's concern, by ghtening the COVID-19
norms that were accepted by all poli cal par es. The
Second Wave of COVID beset the na on between mid-
April and mid-May, 2021. Soon a er the elec ons to five
states/UT were over, the Elec on Commission decided to
postpone three bye-elec ons in Parliamentary
Cons tuencies and eight in Assembly Cons tuencies due
to the prevailing COVID-19 situa on.
Two years since COVID-19 made its first appearance, it
s ll lingers on despite a robust immunisa on
programme. While great care is necessary, electoral
process, in principle, cannot be withheld indefinitely in a
vibrant democracy like India. While elec ons to
legisla ve assemblies are due in a number of states in
2022, Elec on Commission of India will act with extreme Proper disposal of bio-medical waste at a polling station, Puducherry

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