Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday extended the ban on physical political rallies and roadshows in poll-bound states till January 22 as the country continues to grapple with rise in coronavirus cases.
However, ECI granted relaxation for the political parties to the extent that indoor meetings of maximum of 300 persons or 50% of the capacity of the hall or the prescribed limit set by state disaster management authorities.
On Twitter, ECI also directed political parties to adhere to the provisions of model code of conduct and the broad guidelines of Covid.
ECI directed state/ district administration to ensure compliance of all instructions related to model code of conduct and Covid.
While announcing the poll schedule for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur on January 8, the poll panel had taken an unprecedented step by banning public rallies, road shows and similar physical campaigning events till January 15 in view of rising COVID-19 cases.
The poll watchdog on Saturday held meetings with Union health secretary and chief secretaries of the five poll-bound states to decide on any relaxation on public rallies.
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— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) January 15, 2022
ECI directs political parties to adhere to the provisions of MCC and the broad guidelines of COVID
ECI directs State/ District Administration to ensure compliance of all instructions related to MCC and COVID
On January 8, the Commission had also listed out 16-point guidelines for campaigning as it banned 'nukkad sabhas' (corner meetings) on public roads and roundabouts, limited the number of persons allowed for door-to-door campaign to five, including the candidate, and prohibited victory processions after the counting on votes.
Separately, in a press release on Friday, the Election Commission said on considering the ongoing pandemic and enhanced relevance of non-contact based campaign, it had, in consultation with Prasar Bharti Corporation decided to double the broadcast/telecast time allotted to each national party and recognised state party of the five states.
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