The Election Commission on Thursday denied any plans of clubbing the remaining phases of West Bengal Assembly elections into one. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, has called for an all-party meeting asking all political parties to strictly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines mandated by the Election Commission, an official said.

"No such plan of clubbing phases," said Election Commission on speculations about clubbing remaining Assembly election phases in West Bengal into one. Four rounds of voting have happened and the rest of the four phases will conclude by April 29. The results will be declared on May 2.

There were speculations due to a rise in the COVID-19 cases in the state. West Bengal has on Wednesday recorded its highest-ever single-day spike of 5,892 coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 6,30,116, the state health department bulletin said. The death toll rose to 10,458 after 24 more fatalities were registered from different parts of the state, it added.

In the last 24 hours, 2,297 COVID patients recovered in the state, it said. The discharge rate has slightly dipped to 93.16 percent. The number of active cases rose to 32,621. Since Tuesday, 43,463 samples have been tested in the state, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 96,32,841, the bulletin said.

(With inputs from PTI)