Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar has announced that the provisions of the Part VII of the model code of conduct pertaining to party in power have come into effect in the State from Thursday evening.
Restrictions on the party in power as prescribed in the model code will be operational till the election process is completed and the election authority will keep a tab to check violations, if any, of the model code with immediate effect.
According to the Part VII of the model code, the party in power, whether at the Centre or in the States concerned, should ensure that no cause is given to any complaint that it has used its official position for the purpose of its election campaign.
The model code of conduct directs that ministers should not combine their official visit with electioneering work and should also not make use of official machinery or personnel during the election work. Government transport including official aircraft, vehicles, machinery and personnel should not be used in furtherance of the interests of the party in power.
Ads in media
The rules specify that the party in power should take steps to scrupulously avoid issue of advertisements at the cost of public exchequer in newspapers and other media as also the misuse of official media during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the respective party. Ministers and other authorities should not sanction grants/payments out of the discretionary funds from the time elections were announced by the Commission.
The party in power should ensure that public places for holding election meetings and use of helipads in connection with elections should not be monopolised.
Other parties and candidates should be allowed to use such places and facilities on the same terms and conditions on which they were used by the party in power, the guidelines say.
The same guidelines would hold good for the use of rest houses, bungalows and other government accommodation, but no party should be allowed to use such accommodation as a campaign office or for holding any public meeting for the purpose of election propaganda.