The term has become so popular during the high-octane campaigning that even the BJP, which is trying to dethrone the Mamata Banerjee government, has used it in its own way.
“It is very suffocating. I just lowered my mask to breathe properly for a while,” said a young man who had his mask literally hanging from his chin.
At another polling booth at a school in Rifle Range, social distancing in the queue seemed like an alien concept.
Things were no different at the booth inside Patha Bhavan school in Ballygunge. After this newspaper started taking pictures, the jawans guarding the booth took it upon themselves to prod people to stand apart from each other.
At a polling station inside a girls’ school on Sarat Bose Road, voter after voter was discarding the gloves on the road outside the booth, though yellow bins had been kept on the booth premises to dispose of the gloves.
The Election Commission has come under tremendous fire in recent days over Covid.
Highlights
Poll panel protocol for parties to curb infections were mostly ignored
For the sixth straight day today, India logged over three lakh cases
New Delhi:
The Election Commission of India has banned all victory processions on the day of or even after counting of votes (May 2) polled to the five states in the past few weeks amid a COVID-19 surge. Legislative Assembly polls were scheduled in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry in eight phases, beginning March 27 and ending April 29. Not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorised representative receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer concerned, an Election Commission notification said today.
Bengal election 2021: Urging people to exercise their franchise, PM Modi tweeted
New Delhi:
With the seventh phase of the West Bengal assembly polls underway on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols.
Promoted The seventh phase of the West Bengal elections takes place today. Urging people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols, PM Modi tweeted.
The seventh phase of the West Bengal elections takes place today. Urging people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2021
Polling began at 7 am for 34 seats in the seventh phase of the state assembly elections amid tight security and a rampaging second wave of COVID-19.
Expressing confidence that the BJP will win the polls in Bengal with a thumping majority, he said that the election, this time, was unprecedented and unique .