At the behest of the government, the CEC announced the conduct of parliamentary elections in an unprecedented seven phases without taking into account (or deliberately ignoring) that India experiences peak summers during the said dates.
India is in the grip of a severe heatwave, with several poll officials dying in the line of duty to ensure free and fair elections, the latest being the death of 18 polling staff who lost their lives in Bihar and the UP. The condition of fifty others is very critical. Reports of multiple deaths of voters due to rising mercury in Rajasthan and other northern states have also surfaced. This begs the question, what was the need to stretch the elections if not to give advantage to the BJP so that they can exercise control over the narrative and influence voters with their 24x7 barrage against the opposition.
Of course, the PM led from the front in this egregious pursuit by talking about mutton, Muslim, machhli, Mughals, mujra, etc. in his rallies and roadshows held in peak afternoons. The human cost of elections is far too much to be ignored; I hope the EC applies its mind the next time state or parliamentary elections are scheduled.
