Early next year, three states, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, are due to hold elections. In this regard, Election Commission of India has a major challenge. It has to conduct elections in the midst of a pandemic and a possible third wave. Preparations for UP election 2022 have begun among the parties. Preparations like alliance building have begun for Punjab elections as well.

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The Election Commission needs to start its planning and preparations now.  A repeat of its mistakes during the West Bengal election cannot be afforded now. The election event in West Bengal turned out to be a super-spreader event in the way it was conducted. The election officials, the central forces were allegedly not following the Covid-apt behaviour. Additionally, rallies were conducted tossing away social distancing norms.

Currently, UP has a low vaccination rate. And, it is forecast to be one of the most likely Covid hotspots in India. It may also perhaps be heading for a massive third wave.

There are 200+ million people in UP. Out of them, only 2 percent have so far had both doses of the vaccine. It is a near-impossible task to vaccinate even half of the remaining 98 percent of UP’s population before the elections.

Punjab is ranked as the 6th worst state of India by vaccination rate. It is not far behind UP.

These two states lag behind their target vaccine rates. A closer look into the data makes it clear that we are heading towards a Covid-crisis. The UP vaccination rate is 66 percent below target while Punjab is 47 percent below target. If the poll body does not take precautions, UP and Punjab can lead to super-spreaders causing a huge third wave of Covid19.

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What election commission can do?

The election commission should not allow large or crowded rallies, which can trigger super-spreading events. That can actualise the fears of a massive third wave of Covid19 where tens of thousands may die.

The poll body may instead allow for street-corner meetings with under 50 people. Following of social distancing and wearing of masks should be made compulsory for such meetings. Courts may coordinate with the poll body to monitor such meetings and rallies with drones. The poll body must penalize any candidate who violates the 50 people limit. This directive must be announced in advance.

Television can be used by the parties to reach out to the voters. Election commission, courts and TRAI can map out a modality where each party can be designated a time-slot where they can place their candidates & manifestos prior to the election. Such a channel can be mandated to be made as a primary channel in any DTH input. And ultimately, the number of counting stations can be increased to address the requirement of social distancing on the day of vote counting and declaration of election result.