Mamata asks EC to conduct remaining polls in 'one go' citing Covid surge

The Election Commission dismissed the demand by calling it "legally difficult."

Due to the sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged the Election Commission (EC) to club the remaining four phases of poll into a single phase, that is, to conduct the elections at one go in a single day. However, the EC dismissed the demand by calling it "legally difficult."

"Amid an ongoing pandemic, we firmly opposed @ECISVEEP's decision to conduct WB polls in 8 phases. Now, in view of the huge surge in #COVID19 cases, I urge the ECI to consider holding the remaining phases in ONE go. This will protect the people from further exposure to #COVID19," Ms Banerjee tweeted on Thursday evening.

On Friday, the EC clarified there were no plans of clubbing phases. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra backed the CM's tweet by writing on her Twitter account, "It is certainly criminal negligence bordering on manslaughter on part of @ECISVEEP  to mandate 8 phase election in WB in middle of worst pandemic. Unbelievable that we are being put through this. Infections, deaths rising everyday."

Ms Banerjee blamed the BJP for the Covid spike in the state. She said at a rally yesterday that the BJP brought outsiders into the state, spread the disease, ran away and now they are asking for votes.

West Bengal is the only state left where elections are due. Over the last 24 hours, Bengal reported 6,769 cases, increasing the total count of the state to 6,30,116. There are 36,981 active cases while twenty-two people died  taking the total number of fatalities to 10,480. Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, a Congress candidate Rezaul Haque, who was contesting from the Samserganj Assembly constituency in Bengal's Murshidabad district died due to Covid complications.