Election Commission to meet health ministry officials today

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will convene a meeting with senior officials of the Union health ministry including Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Monday to discuss about the current COVID-19 situation as five states are going into polls next year, informed sources.

Assembly elections are due in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Punjab for next year.

"The Election Commission of India will convene a meeting on 27 December at 11 am with senior officials of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare including Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The meeting will discuss the prevailing COVID-19 situation for upcoming Assembly elections in five states," highly placed sources said.

Earlier, amid the COVID variant Omicron scare, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday requested the Election Commission of India to immediately postpone the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh for one-two months.

The court also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ECI to immediately ban rallies and public meetings of political parties in the state.

Meanwhile, India reported 6,987 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday. As per the Union health ministry report, with 162 more fatalities reported, the total death toll mounted to 4,79,682.

The Omicron tally across the nation has surpassed 400-mark. So far, a total of 17 states have reported the new COVID variant, which was first detected in South Africa, said the Union health ministry on Sunday.