Among the most challenging situation the country and its democratic polity faced in a century is holding elections in the midst of the rampaging global pandemic.

The time when the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll schedule for the five assemblies—four States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Union Territory of Puducherry—the country appeared to be recovering from what is now characterised as the first wave amid a sense the pandemic was on the retreat.

On the part of the ECI, it went in with an unprecedented experience of successfully conducting elections to the Bihar Assembly during the autumn season of 2020, a year that will remain etched in the memory of the world for reasons known to everyone. The journey included by-polls to some three score assembly seats besides several to the Rajya Sabha.

The arrival of COVID vaccines and the rolling out of the programme to inoculate the frontline workers added to the strength in going ahead with the schedule. As an additional safety measure, the ECI declared all those tasked with the conduct of polls would have the jab on priority.

Now as the prolonged schedule of polls, especially in West Bengal enters the final stage, the pandemic moved into a brutal phase. The sheer numbers and inability of the system to handle the deluge of the caseload is dissected every day. Accusations and counter-accusations by political parties against one another is an intrinsic part of an intense debate on the subject.

As the caseload spiralled, the ECI too faced the flak for not doing enough to control the crowds at political rallies in the run-up to the polling. Now, the poll body imposed a set of fresh restrictions on political parties by banning victory rallies on or after May 2, the day when the Electronic Voting Machines will spew out the results.

Enforcement of these would remain under the gaze of the people especially after trading of charges of violations of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour during the campaign and subsequent observations by the courts.

After the counting and the process of constitution of the new assemblies are over, citizens who have an equal stake in the poll process could ponder upon a few issues.

Political parties—national or regional, preferred to embark upon traditional methods of mass rallies and roadshows, as a barometer to demonstrate strength and popularity it enjoys among the people. Take any state across the political spectrum there was a little exception, in form or content. Exploring innovative ideas to keep both the people and the campaigners away from harm’s way during these difficult times were not experimented.

As visuals showed, there is no denying that supporters of political parties thronged venues despite the looming threat of the pandemic and its spread. What motivated these individuals or a group to be part of the events at the risk of contracting the ubiquitous virus?

Why is that a section of people choose to ignore much publicised COVID appropriate behaviour? Was it a result of a creeping sense of complacency? Can public health authorities correlate available data with these events to juxtapose cases of direct exposure and the spread? How effective were leadership and its demonstrative role? Such studies can offer empirical evidence to social scientists and public administrators to understand behavioural patterns for the future.

In the wake of observations by various Courts putting the onus on the ECI to crack the whip for the pandemic protocol violations, the poll body said under the disaster management law, it is for the designated authorities to enforce.

Barring West Bengal, a demand to curtail rallies or campaign was not heard in any state. The ruling Trinamool Congress sought telescoping of the last few phases to wind up polling early as reports of a surge in the COVID-19 cases started pouring in the state.

The spotlight turned political after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced the decision of his party to do away with l rallies in the wake of the spiralling graph. The critics could dismiss it as a case of a party with less at stake pulling out. Others followed suit in their own manner and then the ECI stepped in to place a cap on the numbers for such events.

The scientific community continues to caution that the threat of pandemic will remain for a greater part of the year and probably longer. While vaccinations offer hope, the community maintains the threshold limit to acquire herd immunity will take considerable time.

Surely, with technological advances that allow messaging to reach people directly without a physical interface, political parties could explore innovative ideas and avenues. It is easier said but then a path is paved by taking the first step.

Between March and May 2022, the ECI will have to conduct assembly elections in five states of Goa, Manipur, Uttrakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, assemblies that account for 690 seats.

While the ECI and political parties hold periodic meetings to improve the processes, it should collectively work for a consensus on how to campaign under such difficult circumstances and incorporate into the mutually agreed Model Code of Conduct.

—KV Prasad is a senior journalist and has earlier worked with The Hindu and The Tribune. The views expressed are personal.

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)

First Published:Apr 28, 2021 5:54 PM IST