Assembly Elections 2021 : Here’s a list of politicians who tested positive for COVID-19 this poll season

Assembly Elections 2021

Election rallies and political gatherings have been a common place for quite some time now even as the deadly second wave of COVID-19 is sweeping the country.

While polling in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry ended on April 6, four of the eight phases of Assembly polls are yet to be held in West Bengal with very few leaders, across parties, seemingly paying regard to health protocols despite Election Commission of India flagging instances of star campaigners and political leaders not wearing masks while campaigning.

Here is a list of politicians and star campaigners who have so far tested positive for Covid-19 recently.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on April 14 that he has tested positive for Coronavirus. The BJP leader campaigned in poll-bound West Bengal a week ago. Opposition leader in Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party has also tested positive for the virus. Yadav, though was not in West Bengal, but had visited the Kumbh fair in Haridwar recently.

शुरुआती लक्षण दिखने पर मैंने कोविड की जांच कराई और मेरी रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है।

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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मैं सेल्फ आइसोलेशन में हूं और चिकित्सकों के परामर्श का पूर्णतः पालन कर रहा हूं। सभी कार्य वर्चुअली संपादित कर रहा हूं।

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) April 14, 2021

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan tested positive for COVID-19 on April 8, two days after single-phase assembly polls were held in the state. Senior Congress leader and former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy have tested positive for coronavirus. Both the rivals were campaigning heavily in Kerala before elections

I have been confirmed Covid +ve. Will get treated at the Government Medical College, Kozhikkode. Request those who have been in contact with me recently to go into self observation.

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) April 8, 2021

CPI leader D Raja

CPI leader D Raja was hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19 on April 13. The CPI general secretary had campaigned for the LDF alliance in Kerala. Raja was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

DMK general secretary Durai Murugan

DMK general secretary D Murugan tested positive on April 8, two days after the single phase polls in Tamil Nadu were held. The 83-year-old leader was a candidate from Tamil Nadu’s Katpadi constituency. Murugan is recovering under home isolation, reports said.

Union Minister Arjun Munda

Union Minister of tribal affairs Arjun Munda said on April 7 that he has tested positive for Covid-19 on April 7. The minister had campaigned in election campaigns in Assam and West Bengal.

पिछले कुछ दिनों से मैं लगातार बंगाल और असम में विधानसभा चुनाव प्रचार में व्यस्त रहा।कल ही बंगाल से दिल्ली लौटा हूं।कुछ uneasy महसूस करने के कारण मैंने कोविड-19 जांच कराया। रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आयी है।हाल के दिनों में जो भी लोग मेरे संपर्क में आये हैं, वो अपनी जांच कराएं और सजग रहें।

— Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) April 7, 2021

DMK MP Kanimozhi

DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi was hospitalised on April 3 after she tested Covid-19 positive. She had campaigned in southern Tamil Nadu for DMK candidates in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi. Clad in a PPE kit Kanimozhi voted on April 6 elections in Tamil Nadu.

எனது உடல் நிலை பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையிலும் இன்று என்னால் ஓட்டளிக்க முடிந்தது.

நமது அடுத்த அரசை தேர்வு செய்ய, உடல் நல பாதிப்பு ஒரு தடையல்ல என்பதை உறுதி செய்த தேர்தல் ஆணையத்திற்கு நன்றி.#TNElections2021 #tnelectionday pic.twitter.com/TKkfd9PpRK

— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) April 6, 2021

Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan

Union minister Sanjeev Balyan announced on April 11 that he had tested positive for coronavirus.  Balyan is a senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh where Panchayat elections are being held

Read: Tamil Nadu Election 2021: DMK's Kanimozhi, COVID-19 positive, casts vote in PPE suit

BJP candidate Anandamay Barman

Anandamay Barman, BJP’s candidate for Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly constituency in West Bengal's Darjeeling district tested positive for Covid-19 last week. Matigara-Naxalbari assembly seat will go for the polls in the fifth phase scheduled on April 17.

 Congress leader Madhav Rao

Congress candidate Srivilliputhur assembly constituency in Tail Nadu, Madhav Rao passed away on April 11, just days after testing positive for Covid-19.

On April 10, the Election Commission on asked politicians to follow in all seriousness the guidelines on COVID-appropriate behavior issued by it ahead of Bihar assembly elections last year.

In cases of breach, the poll body warned that it will "not hesitate in banning public meetings, rallies of defaulting candidates, star campaigners or political leaders without any further reference." The EC letter came after the Delhi High Court had sought the commission's and the central government's response on use of masks during poll campaigns.