Thangmeiband MLA Kh Joykishan has appealed to the authority to postpone the upcoming by-election until COVID-19 pandemic is over in the state.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Joykishan said that now is the time to be more cautious and attentive as the spread of coronavirus is surging in the state as well as in the country.
“Even though doctors and frontline warriors are working hard to increase the recovery rate in the state, the rise in COVID-19 patients is also not stopping. In this situation, conducting elections will be a major risk for the state,” he stated.
The MLA said that election campaign will intensify and will defy the COVID-19 SOPs.
“Now that lockdown is lifted, many people are roaming freely risking their lives by going against the SOPs. People are becoming careless and many stopped using face masks and even forgot to maintain social distance. As such, holding campaigns for election will have a worse impact,” he said.
Joykishan went on to urge the state government to frame certain guidelines to be followed while conducting election campaign and during the by-election if the conducting the polls very soon is made compulsory by Election Commission of India. He appealed to give focus on protecting the state from COVID-19 first saying that there will also be time for political fight and by-election.
The MLA further sought support and help from CVOs, student bodies and Meira Paibis to mount pressure on ECI for postponing the by-election.
