'Bihar polls should be held on time' says JD(U) amid coronavirus crisis

Amid concerns on a worsening Coronavirus outbreak in Bihar, the ruling Janata Dal (United) has said that assembly elections should be held on time so that the new government can work for development.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that the elections are held on time. We are focussing on elections so that the new government works for development," JDU spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said on Saturday.

Refuting claims of opposition alleging neglect by the state government, Ranjan said the Bihar government is working well on coronavirus containment and floods management.

"To fight coronavirus, 5,000 more beds have been installed in the hospitals for the patients and coronavirus testing target is being set at 20,000 per day. In case of floods, the SOPs are being followed which had been decided last month and on that basis relief shelters and disaster management work is being done," said Ranjan.

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Bihar government has said that 9.6 lakh people have been affected by floods in the state and 12,023 persons were staying in shelter homes. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel carried out rescue operations in the flood-affected areas of East Champaran district on Friday. It said 22 teams of NDRF and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the state to help in rescue and relief efforts.

Elections in the pandemic period

Even though the Election Commission has already geared up its preparation for the Bihar assembly polls, they may find it difficult to hold elections in these testing times, till the infections curve is flattened in the state. A large number of officials are required to hold elections, which may also be a challenge.

The Bihar Assembly will complete its tenure on November 29 and if the elections are deferred, the state may head for President’s rule till elections are held. Opposition parties have urged the poll body to reassess conducting the Bihar Assembly polls. Contending that the COVID-19 situation in Bihar is “rapidly worsening”, the parties called for an informed decision regarding holding the elections.

Coronavirus outbreak

The COVID-19 death toll in Bihar rose to 221 on Friday with nine more people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, while over 1,800 fresh cases took the state's tally to 33,511, according to a health department bulletin. Patna, the worst-affected district in the state, became the first to have reported over 5,000 COVID-19 cases till date. However, with 1,873 patients recuperating from the disease in 24 hours the state's COVID-19 recovery rate reached 68.13%, an improvement of over two percentage points from that on Thursday.

(With ANI inputs)

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