Following the Election commission’s announcement of the schedule for five states Assembly polls and related Covid restrictions, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on January 8 said that the elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner. He also requested Election Commission to act impartially. Speaking to ANI, Kharge said, “We request Election Commission to act impartially. Many times some people act as per their wishes, so it's difficult to predict how much impartiality will be there.”