Confident Of Holding Elections During Pandemic

Very informed person Sunil Arora chief election commissioner

- Soni Mishra

The pandemic has thrown up new challenges, and conducting polls will not be easy, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. He is, however, confident of holding the Bihar elections, due in October/November, on time. Requisite changes are being made in electoral processes, he says, to ensure that safety guidelines are followed during campaigning and voting. Excerpts from an interview:

In view of Covid-19, how confident are you of holding elections on schedule in Bihar?

Since its inception, the Election Commission has been conducting elections amid varied circumstances. In the recent Rajya Sabha elections, [our ability to] conduct polls amid a pandemic got tested. Though the scale was smaller, our new standard operating procedures (SOPs) are [being] laid down. We are confident that we will be able to fine-tune logistics and requirements for the forthcoming elections.

How will elections be different now?

Electoral processes would be suitably modified to ensure social distancing, sanitisation and the use of masks and gloves. We conducted the Rajya Sabha polls quite successfully, and even made arrangements for Covid-19 positive voters. All guidelines pertaining to electoral machinery, voters, political parties and candidates are being tweaked. Training and capacity-building of electoral machinery is underway.

But campaigning involves rallies and gatherings.