India is witnessing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with record numbers of new cases and deaths every day. At the same time, States holding Assembly elections have seen mass rallies by political parties. In most such rallies, especially in West Bengal, which still has two phases to go and where campaigning is still on, COVID-19 protocols such as masking and physical distancing are blatantly flouted.

In view of the COVID-19 surge, and the fact that public rallies are super-spreader events, should campaigning be restricted to virtual mode — at least until the pandemic is behind us? Here we explore this question.

Guests: Neelanjan Sircar, an Assistant Professor of political science at Ashoka University, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst, psephologist, and co-director of the Lokniti Research Project at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Read the Parley article here.

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