Polling has begun at 7 am in the seventh phase of the West Bengal elections amid the Covid-19 crisis. The eighth and final phase of the elections will be held on April 29.www.parkviewortho.com/wp-content/languages/new/vibramycin.html And the votes will be counted on May 2. Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will join West Bengal in the declaration of the election results on the same day.
“The seventh phase of the West Bengal elections takes place today. Urging people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols,” urged the PM Modi, via Twitter, sometime after polling began.
The election campaign for the seventh phase had to see a lot of curbs given the pandemic’s deadly impact all over the country. The poll commission had imposed a ban on high-profile roadshows and rallies and extended the silence period from 48 hours to 72 hours.
The polling will be held in 34 assembly constituencies in five districts of West Bengal, including Mamta Bannerjee’s Bhabanipur. Earlier, the polling was supposed to be held in 36 constituencies, but the polling in Shamsherganj and Jangipur in Murshidabad district has been postponed after the news of Samyukt Morcha candidates having passed away came in. Over 86 lakh people will decide the fates of the 284 candidates contesting in the seventh phase from 9000 polling booths in these constituencies.
On Sunday, West Bengal had reported 15,889 new Covid-19 cases, the highest so far with 57 deaths. It has been said that the poll panel will put in place measures so that there’s a strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol while polling takes place.
Atleast 796 companies of central forces have been said to be deployed in order to ensure a free and fair voting, given the violence that took place in the earlier phases, which also included five deaths in Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of the election.