Dip in turnout, more polling booths: Voting under the shadow of Covid-19

The polling in phase 5 of the West Bengal Assembly election 2021 is being held today on 45 of 294 constituencies, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the state and country.

Amid the raging pandemic, West Bengal today is polling on 45 seats in its crucial fifth phase. And this will take the total seats already voted to 180 in a 294-member assembly. After today’s phase, the momentum is likely to have settled in favour of one party, and the gap between the perceived winner and loser is likely to increase. The state witnessed a high-decibel campaign in the last six weeks alongside skyrocketing Covid-related indicators. It now has the third-highest Covid fatality rate in India. The key question is whether the remaining phases will witness equal voter turnout or will electoral participation dip. And what can the Election Commission of India (ECI) do to ensure high voter turnout in the remaining phases? So far, the comparison of four phases that have already polled with the 2016 benchmark suggests a slight dip in turnout. A similar drop in turnout has been noticed across other states too that have already finished polling.