West Bengal Assembly Elections: Keeping in view of the highest ever surge in Coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, TMC Leader Derek O'Brien announced that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not hold any public rallies in Kolkata for the remaining three phases of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
On April 26, Banerjee will only hold a "symbolic" meeting on the last day of campaigning in the state capital, he informed.
Additionally, all election rallies conducted by Banerjee in all districts of the state will not be longer than 30 minutes, he said.
Earlier, CM Banerjee had appealed to the Election Commission to conduct the remaining three phases of the Bengal election in one go to "protect people from further exposure to Covid-19".
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the suggestion in a letter to the Election Commission. The BJP said the election should be held as per the original schedule to ensure a level-playing field for all candidates.
The first five phases of the eight-phase West Bengal Assembly elections have already been completed. The sixth phase is scheduled for April 22, the seventh and the eighth phases will be held on April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
The COVID-19 caseload of West Bengal, where an eight-phase assembly election is underway, soared to 6,59,927 as the state registered its highest single-day spike of 8,419 fresh infections on Sunday, a health bulletin said.
Twenty-eight fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 10,568, it said.
Kolkata reported the highest number of new cases at 2,197, followed by 1,860 in neighbouring North 24 Parganas district.
North 24 Parganas registered six fresh fatalities, followed by five in Kolkata.