Election Commission said all election officials will be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Election officials will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, the Election Commission said on Friday as it announced dates for assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry.
Election officials are frontline workers and they will be vaccinated, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said in the news conference in Delhi.
Voting time has been increased by 1 hour because of the pandemic, he added. During filing of nominations, only two people will be allowed to accompany the candidate, he said.
This is the first major set of elections to be held in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic after the Bihar election.
Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam and 30 seats in the Union Territory of Puducherry.