Two candidates participating in the forthcoming DSGMC polls have tested positive for Coronavirus and have been quarantined home. The Delhi government of Arvind Kejriwal has declared a weekend curfew in the National Capital Region of Delhi. A large number of Sikhs and other citizens of Delhi are running helter-skelter for treatment and hospitalisation. The Delhi High Court relying upon the assurance of the Aam Aadmi Party ensuring full compliance of all advisories by Sikhs during electioneering has dismissed a petition seeking a delay in the polls.  Young Sikh social activists are working hard for medical relief and are also seeking postponement of the polls. Gurmeet Singh of WSN Delhi Desk explains.

AS IT IS THE SIKHS OF DELHI ARE LARGELY UNINTERESTED in the DSGMC Gurdwara polls. With the COVID19 fear looming large, in such a situation if the DSGMC polls are held on 25 April 2021, the turnout is bound to be far lower than the previous elections. It may fall down from 46 per cent of the registered voters in 2017 to probably half or even fewer as very few are likely to brave the difficult situation and reach the booths to exercise their franchise.

The horror of the April heat could not dampen the spirit of campaigning in the DSGMC elections, but the rising numbers of COVID19 cases are forcing campaigners to stay indoors and woo prospective voters by holding house to house meetings, telecalling and an extensive social media campaign. Nevertheless, the voters are afraid that the campaigners may be carrying the virus as they move from one home to another. WSN is aware that this was witnessed when there was a sustained house to house campaign, some four months back, for registering fresh voters in Rajouri Garden and Paschim Vihar.

Kuldip Singh Sahni from the Safdarjang Enclave seat has tested COVID19 positive and Jagtar Singh Jagga from the Trans-Jamuna seat of Khureji Khas is down with Typhoid, though unconfirmed reports claim that he too is Corona positive. It may however be noted, that neither the leadership of the 7 participating groups or independent candidates have sought postponement of elections, till the filing of this report.

Kuldip Singh Sahni from the Safdarjang Enclave seat has tested COVID19 positive and Jagtar Singh Jagga from the Trans-Jamuna seat of Khureji Khas is down with Typhoid.

The enthusiasm of the contesting candidates is also facing rough weather as the capital city of India witnesses a huge COVID19 upsurge.  Activist lawyer Harpreet Singh Sodhi, who was conducting a door to door campaign for his favourite candidates told this reporter, “I have stopped campaigning since the last three days and am now calling only on the phone. The situation is scary.”

Entrepreneur and activist from Rajouri Garden Sukhbir Singh expressed his worries about the situation and demanded postponement of the DSGMC elections. Sikh social media circles are agog with fear and interactions as to what should be done to get the elections postponed.  

As the daily active cases touched 17,000 plus today and as the shortage of beds, ventilators and oxygen hit the citizens of Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal government has announced a full weekend curfew till 30 April.

As the daily active cases touched 17,000 plus today and as the shortage of beds, ventilators and oxygen hit the citizens of Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal government has announced a full weekend curfew till 30 April, without any word as to how the elections will be held on the scheduled weekend Sunday, 25 April 2021. Since the past few days, the cases expected to double every six days, are now doubling in 1-2 days.

Amidst all of this, two conscientious Delhi Sikh citizens and registered voters for the DSGMC polls -Advocate Jagmohan Singh and social activist Manjit Singh Chugh, approached the Delhi High Court through representations to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi through representations to defer the elections of the members of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee under the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act 1971, when the corona scare subsides.

The petitioners cited the rising coronavirus infections in Delhi, the fact that the norms of COVID19-friendly behaviours are going for a toss during electioneering, the historical fact that elections have been postponed in the past for various reasons and the palpable fear that just as the Tableeghi Jamaat was blamed as super-spreaders in the first found of the Corona pandemic, this time the Sikhs may be blamed likewise.

They have also attached newspaper clippings regarding the COVID19 spread and photos showing utter disregard by leaders, candidates and campaigners during the ongoing electioneering.

Dismissing the writ petition seeking putting on hold the election process for DSGMC by the Delhi government, Justice Rajiv Shai Endlaw and Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court, said, “The decision, to hold or not to hold an election or allow or not to allow a particular event to take place, are matters of policy and policy matters are best left to the Executive Wing of the Constitution of India which has the wherewithal to take all relevant factors into consideration before arriving at a decision in such respect.

Once a decision to hold the election has been taken, the election process begun and not stopped in spite of rise in the number of infected persons in the city and normal life permitted to go on in the city save for a few restrictions and once it is shown that guidelines for ensuring that the holding of election does not lead to spread of Covid-19 any more than it is already taking place, the Court would not interfere in such a policy matter. The respondent GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi), as well as the Central Government, is already taking all steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19, without however restricting day to day life any more than necessary.”

“The decision, to hold or not to hold an election or allow or not to allow a particular event to take place, are matters of policy and policy matters are best left to the Executive Wing of the Constitution of India……”

Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Amit Bansal, Delhi High Court, in their order dismissing petition seeking delay of the DSGMC polls.

The judges also added that there is no ground for fear of a bad name to a particular community. They said, “the subject elections are not political in nature but agree that with the passage of time, are no less than a political election. Besides the general restrictions put in place by the Governments and being enforced, each institution is taking its own steps for restricting the spread of the Covid-19 virus and we are confident that not only will GNCTD enforce guidelines already issued to prevent spread of virus during the election, a body as the DSGMC also, will take all possible steps to ensure that the conduct of elections is not a source of spread of the Covid-19 virus.”

Legal experts and observers point out that the situation in Delhi is going from bad to worse but generally speaking, courts do not intervene once the poll process starts in any election.

In such a scenario, Sikhs will wade through a difficult time with only a very small percentage of voters choosing their Gurdwara representatives. The community’s concern was well expressed by Amardeep Singh -a young social activist from Tilak Nagar, who while speaking to WSN said, “The Aam Aadmi Party government and the Directorate Gurdwara Elections owe it to the Sikhs of Delhi not to conduct a sham election with an expectedly poor turnout.”  

“Saving the lives of people, including young Sikhs who are dying of the new COVID19 mutant should be the topmost priority. Everything else can wait.”