On the first day of this month, the number of daily Covid-19 infected in Bengal stood at 1,274. On the 8th of April, it was 2,783. On 15th, the number has risen to 6,769. Earlier, during the first wave of Covid-19, the figure never touched 5,000. As the situation turns grim, many tourist places of Kolkata, including Victoria Museum, Science City, Indian Museum and the Planetarium, have been closed for the public again.
In the last fifteen days the constant factor behind this enormous rise was a political campaign by holding rallies and roadshows in which tens of thousands gathered without caring for physical distancing, and most of them even without wearing a mask. Now, hospitals are declaring non-availability of beds for corona patients, and there is not enough supply of vaccine doses either.
The Election Commission (EC), which failed as far as implementing Covid-19 guidelines are concerned, has woken up after being nudged by the Calcutta High Court. After its earlier direction, today again the HC directed the EC to convince the political parties and its leaders that they would have to bear the responsibility of abiding by guidelines as it was not possible for the police to implement covid-19 guidelines. However, neither Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s, nor Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s rallies today showed any awareness about the gravity of the situation. People sat or stood close by each other and the vast majority of them, as usual, were not wearing masks.
Meanwhile, how serious is the EC about the situation became clear today when the EC directed Bagbazar Central Medical store, where Covid-19 vaccines for the state are stored, to close shop from 27th to 29th as that place would be converted into a polling booth. To say the least, it is the height of irresponsibility, shown by the EC.
Under the circumstances, it was not expected from the EC that it will intervene meaningfully. The EC did not respond to the demand by the TMC to hold the last three phases on a single day, for the simple reason that so many paramilitary forces are not available in the state. While this is understandable in light of Bengal’s tradition of violence during the election season, it does not appear that the EC can do much now.
In the all-party meeting, the EC did not come up with any new direction. On the behalf of the BJP, Swapan Dasgupta said they had requested the commission to come up with guidelines that would uphold ‘the robust democratic culture with safety norms’. He let the media know that his party is opposed to any change in the pattern or time of campaign for any constituency as it should be uniform for all the constituencies. On behalf of the Left and Samjukta Morcha, Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said they asked the EC to come up with the required guidelines and promised to abide by them.
The TMC, which alleges the EC has become a tool of the central government and BJP, demanded in the meeting that the last three phases should be clubbed into one. On behalf of the party, Partha Chatterjee however also clarified that campaign tine for no constituency should be curbed. It means that the last three phases should be held on the 29th. But would it make any difference then?
(The author Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. He has a wide range of experience in covering West Bengal politics and has authored several books)