Trinamool Congress leader Kajal Sinha has died due to coronavirus, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today. He was the party's candidate from Khardaha constituency.
In a tweet, Ms Banerjee said she was "shocked".
"Very, very sad. Shocked. Kajal Sinha, our candidate from Khardaha, succumbed to Covid. He dedicated his life to serving people & just fought a tireless campaign. He was a long-serving committed member of @AITCofficial. We will miss him. My condolences to his family & his admirers (sic)," she tweeted.
The state, which is electing its next government in a record eight-phased elections, has been witnessing an alarming spike in Covid cases.
Yesterday, the state saw the highest single-day spike with 14,281 COVID-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 7,28,061.
Huge rallies where Covid protocols have been ignored have drawn heavy criticism from experts amid spike in cases across the country.
The Election Commission (EC) earlier this week prohibited roadshows and Padyatras in poll-bound West Bengal in wake of surge in COVID-19 cases. The poll body also restricted the number of people's participation in public meetings to 500.
"In the wake of upsurge in #COVID19 cases across the country and the ECI Order dated 22nd April, 2021, I am cancelling all my prescheduled meetings and we will reach out to the people virtually," Ms Banerjee had tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday also cancelled his visit to Bengal on Friday to campaign for the ongoing state election citing urgent meetings to review the Covid situation in the country.
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