Halt rallies in West Bengal

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has done well to call off all his election rallies ahead of the sixth, seventh and final phases of voting in the West Bengal assembly elections. Other leaders and political parties would do well to follow his example. Bengal is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections. On Sunday, it reported 8,419 new cases, the highest daily count in the state since the outbreak of infections in 2020. Kolkata alone reported around 2,200 new cases. Amid this grave and deteriorating situation, parties across the political spectrum have been holding jam-packed rallies and road shows, where neither leaders nor supporters wear masks or follow social distancing norms. Instead of cautioning people against crowding at rallies, Home Minister Amit Shah said that it is “not right to link elections” to the spread of infections.

It is in this context that Rahul Gandhi’s decision to call off his rallies comes as a breath of fresh air. It is heartening that the Trinamool Congress has decided to follow suit, albeit half-heartedly. It has announced that it will avoid organising big rallies in Kolkata and will also cut down on the duration of events. This is a step in the right direction but doesn’t go far enough as the TMC will hold small rallies in Kolkata and continue with large ones outside this city. The TMC must go the whole hog and cancel all its rallies across the state. It is worrying that BJP leaders are yet to respond. The party is determined to wrest power in Bengal and to this end, it is conducting a massive and aggressive campaign. It needs to revise its strategy for the public good. It must halt its rallies.

The Election Commission has done little so far to control crowding during campaigning. It could have heeded the request of parties to club together the last three phases of voting in response to the Covid surge. It did not. And while it has banned rallies, public meetings and even street plays between 7 pm and 10 am, this doesn’t go far enough. Piecemeal or half-hearted solutions to deal with a crisis have little impact. The EC must ban rallies across Bengal with immediate effect. Parties can turn to digital campaigning. During the 2014 general election, the BJP used 3D holographic technology to reach out to people. It was able to reach far more people than it could have by holding traditional rallies. Parties could turn to such technology now. The battle for Bengal is no doubt important. But the pandemic is claiming lives. Politicians should put the well-being of people ahead of power and polls.