Candidates appraised of campaign rules

Coimbatore: Collector K Rajamani on Saturday conducted a meeting with the 14 candidates, whose nominations were accepted for Coimbatore constituency, and appraised them of the rules regarding campaigning.
The candidates, who will intensify their campaigns over the next two weeks, were told that they were not allowed to campaign inside, right outside or too close to any religious place or place of worship including mosques, churches and temples. “The same rule also applies to schools, because it will cause disturbance and distraction, specially as it is the exam time,” said an official.

The election commission also asked them to make sure that the speeches on the campaign trail do not hurt the sentiments or anyone or defame them. “Campaign hours have also been fixed from 6am to 10pm, after which all public address systems should be switched off. Art works on walls within the corporation limits have been banned. They are allowed in rural areas, but the candidates need to seek the permission of the house or institution owner before advertising. Banners and posters should not be pasted outside or in front of any government office or institution,” he said.

Candidates who are planning a meeting or rally should approach the election commission in advance and submit the starting location, end location, time and date and seek prior permission. “Candidates have to also mention the number of vehicles used for campaign, registration numbers and details of owners, among others. If the flying squad notices a party spending too much on a spot, they will stop the candidate and inform the election commission,” he said.

On the election day, vehicles should be parked more than 100m away from polling booths. Party men issuing booth slips have to be stationed 200m away from the booths.

Advertisements in television channels will have to be submitted and cleared by the media communication centre in the collectorate before they are screened.