From Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : There has been big news about the coronavirus attack in the West Bengal elections. Congress candidate rezaul Haq from Shamsherganj in Murshidabad has died of corona. He died in a Kolkata hospital this morning. He was referred to Kolkata from Jangipur yesterday. The second wave of corona is much more terrible than last time. This time the corona infection is spreading very fast to the people. Two lakh new cases have started coming up every day. Meanwhile, elections are also going on in the country, election rallies are also taking place where hundreds of people are gathering. The big question that arises is whether elections are necessary in the country or the lives of the people. Elections are not necessary in the country, the lives of the people here are essential. Necessary action is required. In Uttar Pradesh, voting is underway for panchayat elections. Voting is underway for selection of 779 posts of Panchayat Members, 19313 Posts of Kshetra Panchayats and 14789 posts of Gram Pradhans in 18 districts of UP Yesterday.
Since morning, 51,176 polling stations have been crowded. Social dispensing is being followed somewhere and nowhere else. Corona infected people have also been allowed to cast their votes wearing PPE kits. In Bengal also, corona infection is spreading rapidly, but it is not showing any impact on the people here. In Bengal, almost every day, senior leaders of political parties are conducting road shows and addressing election rallies. A large number of people are also thronging here. In the meantime, people are not even seen wearing masks to follow social dispensing. In view of the alarming situation in Corona, there is now a need for virtual publicity in the poll-going States. The Election Commission has convened an all party meeting for the same on April 16. The meeting will discuss how to propagate and avoid infection in view of the increasing cases of corona virus in Bengal. The meeting may also discuss virtual election e-campaigning. However, no such guidelines in this regard have come out from the Election Commission so far. In the last 24 hours, 2,00,739 new cases of corona virus have been reported across the country while 1,038 patients have died. With this, the number of positive cases has increased to 1,40,74,564 while the total number of deaths has increased to 1,73,123. According to health department data, the total number of active cases in the country is 14,71,877 and the total number of discharged cases is 1,24,29,564.
