Considering the coronavirus situation, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to postpone the upcoming polls to the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC).
As per the SEC's election schedule, polling for the GMC will be held on April 18, while counting will take place on April 20.
In view of the sudden spike in the Covid-19 cases, Rupani has written to the SEC, urging it to postpone the election to prevent the spread of the virus, a government release stated.
In the letter, Rupani said it is natural that political leaders and their supporters would gather in large numbers for poll campaigning.
Apart from this, several government employees would also be engaged in election-related work.
"In such a scenario, it is very much possible that Covid-19 infection would spread further. Hence, I urge the SEC to consider these factors and postpone the election to the GMC in the larger public interest," the CM said.
Notably, the Congress and the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party had already requested the SEC to postpone the election in view of the current Covid-19 situation.
Gujarat on Thursday recorded 4,021 new Covid-19 cases that took the state's tally of infections to 3,32,474.
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