File photo
Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 31
The Election Commission (EC) on Monday decided to extend ban on road shows, pad-yatras, cycle/bike/vehicle rallies and processions till February 11 in five poll-bound states, though it has given some limited relaxation in holding physical public meeting with increase in the number of attendees from existing 500 to 1,000 or 50 per cent of the capacity of the designated venue for all phases of polls from February 1.
Officials in the poll panel said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey “today held another comprehensive review meeting of the present situation of Covid-19 infection particularly in the states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh”.
During the meeting, the secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the chief secretaries, the chief electoral officers of the five poll going states were present through virtual mode.
Following the review meeting, a senior official in the EC said, “No road shows, pad-yatras, cycle/bike/vehicle rallies and processions shall be allowed till February 11, 2022.”
He, however, said, “The panel has now decided to allow physical public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates in designated open spaces with a maximum of 1,000 persons (instead of existing 500 persons) or 50 percent of the capacity of the ground or the prescribed limit set by SDMA, whichever number is lesser, from February 1, 2022 for all phases.”
It has also been decided to enhance the limit for door to door campaigns, as from February 1 instead of 10 persons, now 20 persons, excluding security personnel, would be allowed for door to door campaigns, the official said, adding that other instructions on door to door campaigns would continue.
For indoor meetings, political parties would now be allowed to arrange gatherings of 500 persons instead of 300 or 50 percent of the capacity of the hall or the prescribed limit set by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), he said.
The official said, “It shall be the responsibility of the District Electoral Officer (DEO) concerned to identify and to notify the designated spaces in advance for political meetings and all other restrictions as contained in the Revised Broad Guidelines for Conduct of Elections, 2022 issued on 8 January 2022 shall continue to operate.”
Political parties and contesting candidates should be liable to ensure the compliance of Covid appropriate behaviour and guidelines and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) at all occasions during the activities connected with elections, he said.
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