A senior BJP MLA tested coronavirus positive hours after he voted for the Rajya Sabha elections at the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Friday, triggering panic among other legislators who had exercised their right in the same premises. Several MLAs today queued up at a hospital to get tested for the virus that has killed nearly 500 people in the state.
According to reports, the MLA had given his sample for COVID-19 test on Friday afternoon after his wife complained of uneasiness. In the evening, they were informed that they were positive for the virus.
On Saturday, BJP MLAs Yashpal Singh Sisodiya, Dilip Makwana and Devilal Dhakad turned up for coronavirus test at the state-run JP Hospital in Bhopal.
"I came here along with two other MLAs from our division- Dilip Makwana and Devilal Dhakad - after we came to know through media and social media that one of the MLAs from our division has tested positive for COVID-19," Mr Sisodiya said.
@BJP4India MLA tested #coronavirus positive hours after he voted for the #RajyaSabhaElections in MP triggering panic among others, Several #MLAs today queued up at a hospital to get tested for #Covid_19india @ndtv @ndtvindia pic.twitter.com/zlpqfgGJmo
— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) June 20, 2020
"We don't have any symptoms, but came to take the test for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure," he said.
Mr Dhakad said he had dined with the coronavirus positive MLA two days ago.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly's principal secretary, AP Singh, said the authorities had taken precautions before and during voting. They are scanning security footage to ascertain who had come in contact with the MLA.
"All employees were in safety gears during the Rajya Sabha election process. The assembly campus was being sanitised every 15-20 minutes during the polling process...We are now going through the CCTV footage to trace those who had come in his contact," he said.
He is the second Madhya Pradesh MLA to have contracted the virus. A Congress MLA - coronavirus positive - voted on Friday, turning up wearing full body protective suit.
The BJP won two of three Rajya Sabha seats; the Congress, which lost power in the state earlier this year, won a single seat. Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh will be returning to upper house of parliament for the second consecutive term along with BJP leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki.
Madhya Pradesh has reported over 11,500 coronavirus cases till now.
With inputs from PTI
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