Not feasible to club remaining phases of West Bengal polls: EC

The Election Commission on Wednesday told Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien that it is not feasible to club the remaining three phases of the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its reply to Brien on his request to club remaining phases of West Bengal polls, the Election Commission said, "Suggestion to club the phases six, seven and eight is not feasible."

"EC has already mandated detailed guidelines to ensure that safety norms are adhered to without any exceptions," it added.

Polling for phases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the state elections took place on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, and April 17, respectively.

Polling for the sixth phase of the ongoing assembly elections will begin at 7 am on Thursday.

Polling for the seventh and the eighth phase will be held on April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

West Bengal reported 10,784 fresh COVID-19 cases, 5,616 discharges, and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the state health bulletin on Wednesday evening. The state currently has 63,496 active cases while so far, 10,710 people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease.

( With inputs from ANI )