Editor's Pick: Election in the time of pandemic

The Election Commission of India has announced the dates of voting and counting for the Assembly polls in five States to be held early this year. Uttar Pradesh will vote in seven phases starting on February 10, Manipur will vote in two phases, and Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will vote in single phases, with counting to be held on March 10. A total of 690 Assembly constituencies with 18.34 crore eligible voters are going to the polls this time.The election comes amid the third wave of the coronavirus, with cases rising rapidly in the country due to the Omicron variant. There are fears that this will affect the turnout of voters, which the Election Commission has tried to assuage saying that safety measures will be in place at the polling booths. The ECI has also disallowed physical rallies and roadshows till January 15 considering the third wave. This will be a major limitation for political parties that depend on mass events as a show of strength. They will have to resort to online modes of campaigning which may not have a similar reach or impact. The elections are also replete with political significance as The Hindu's Varghese K George writes in this analysis. It is a test of Yogi Adityanath's hold over U.P., which is a bellwether State in national politics as well. The Congress is defending its rule in Punjab, which was the hub of the recent farmer's protest. These political aspects, along with the impact of the raging pandemic on the voting, are what make this story important. The Hindu Explainers Explained | What’s the roadmap for vaccinating teenagers? Explained | The Devas arbitration Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Sidney Poitier, who passed away on January 7, broke racial barriers by achieving what feat? 1. Frist Black man to win Best Actor Oscar 2. First Black man to run for President of the United States 3. First Black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon 4. First Black man to go to space To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 09 JANUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Election in the time of pandemic [Election in the time of pandemic] The [Election Commission of India has announced the dates of voting and counting for the Assembly polls]( in five States to be held early this year. Uttar Pradesh will vote in seven phases starting on February 10, Manipur will vote in two phases, and Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will vote in single phases, with counting to be held on March 10. A total of 690 Assembly constituencies with 18.34 crore eligible voters are going to the polls this time.The election comes amid the third wave of the coronavirus, with cases rising rapidly in the country due to the Omicron variant. There are fears that this will affect the turnout of voters, which the Election Commission has tried to assuage saying that safety measures will be in place at the polling booths. The [ECI has also disallowed physical rallies and roadshows till January 15]( the third wave. This will be a major limitation for political parties that depend on mass events as a show of strength. They will have to resort to online modes of campaigning which may not have a similar reach or impact. The elections are also replete with political significance as The Hindu's Varghese K George writes in [this analysis](. It is a test of Yogi Adityanath's hold over U.P., which is a bellwether State in national politics as well. The Congress is defending its rule in Punjab, which was the hub of the recent farmer's protest. These political aspects, along with the impact of the raging pandemic on the voting, are what make this story important. [underlineimg] The Hindu Explainers [Arrow][Explained | What’s the roadmap for vaccinating teenagers?]( [Arrow][Explained | The Devas arbitration]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Sidney Poitier, who passed away on January 7, broke racial barriers by achieving what feat? 1. Frist Black man to win Best Actor Oscar 2. First Black man to run for President of the United States 3. First Black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon 4. First Black man to go to space To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. 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