JOIN USPolitical programmes affected in West Bengal as infections surge
As Covid infections surge, with over 24,000 cases reported on Sunday, political fervour and campaigns appear to wither too in West Bengal.
With barely a month’s time for Goa’s elections, where the Trinamool Congress is testing waters and contesting, Abhishek Banerjee party’s national general secretary (and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew), on Sunday, dropped his Goa visit. Party sources didn’t clarify when the next visit is likely to be. Goa is to have the elections on 14 February.
On Saturday, Banerjee said that activities - religious, or political - be halted for the next two months. He said that this is his personal opinion.
While these comments were made in a ‘personal capacity’, Banerjee being Trinamool’s second-most important face, the comments have generated speculations about the things to come. The Trinamool-led government is going ahead with the Gangasagar Mela and has not expressed any reservations about the upcoming civic polls in four major corporations on January 22.
The surge in Covid-19 infections is also a cause of concern for the BJP and the Left. A march to Nabanna, the state secretariat which also houses Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s office, by the BJP’s Kisan Morcha with pro-farmer demands, has been deferred, citing an increasing number of infections, Mahadeb Sarkar, state president for the Morcha told Deccan Herald. Sarkar said that related activities concerning farmers’ issues are also on hold.
A proposed visit of the party’s national president J P Nadda to West Bengal this month was also deferred. The party cited the “evolving Covid situation and rising number of new cases in Kolkata” as the reason for the postponement of the visit.
The infections are also appearing to be a deterrent for political campaigns surrounding the municipal elections in the state. The BJP has already demanded that the civic elections be deferred by a month, which is scheduled to take place on January 22.
On the civic polls, the Left Front too has reservations. The Front has asked the state election commission for a discussion on holding the elections.
While politics of the state have taken a backseat, party workers in the four municipal corporations are trying to carry forward campaigns. The state government has said that restrictions could intensify if the situation arises, but the lives and livelihood of the people will also be taken into consideration before any steps are initiated.
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