Radha Mohan Singh (in blue jacket), Swatantra Dev Singh (centre) and Yogi Adityanath
A top BJP leader who is in charge of the party's affairs in Uttar Pradesh has tested positive for COVID-19. Radha Mohan Singh, who is also national vice president of the BJP, had attended a meeting of the party's top leaders in Lucknow last night, where UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh were also present.
Radha Mohan Singh tested positive this morning.
In visuals of the party meeting last night, Radha Mohan Singh in a blue jacket is seen sitting next to Swatantra Dev Singh in the centre, to whose left is Yogi Adityanath.
While Radha Mohan Singh is said to have gone into self-isolation, Swatantra Dev Singh has gone ahead with the BJP's door-to-door campaign this morning for the seven-phase assembly elections to be held starting February 10.
Swatantra Dev Singh meets people during the BJP's door-to-door campaign
Visuals from the UP BJP chief's door-to-door campaign shows him without a mask at times, though he sat next to his colleague last night who tested positive this morning.
Samajwadi Party leader Sunil Singh Yadav criticised Swatantra Dev Singh's door-to-door campaign as irresponsible behaviour. "...Instead of isolating themselves, the leaders present in the meeting are engaged in public relations and are putting the lives of the public in danger," Sunil Singh Yadav tweeted in Hindi.
In the latest guidelines published by the Indian Council of Medical Research, or ICMR, last evening, the contacts of confirmed cases of COVID-19 unless identified as high risk based on age or comorbidities do not need to get tested.
Assembly elections in four other states - Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand - will also be held next month. The Election Commission has said all political parties want the polls to be held with following strict COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Some medical experts have, however, raised concern over rising COVID-19 cases amid the threat from the highly transmissible variant Omicron. The BJP, Congress and other parties have announced they would hold online rallies, since physical political rallies have a high risk of turning into super-spreader events.