The elections for the three MCDs are scheduled for April. (Representational) The State Election Commission (SEC) has released guidelines for the upcoming municipal elections in New Delhi. As per the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) 2022, candidates will have to abide strictly by Covid protocols.
The SEC is yet to announce the schedule for the elections to the three municipal bodies, after which the MCC will come into force.
The guidelines state that “no rallies and public meetings” will be allowed between 8 pm and 8 am on any campaign day. For door-to-door campaigns, “a maximum of five persons including candidates, excluding security personnel, if any, shall be allowed”, it says.
“Further, rallies and meetings shall be allowed only in earmarked places and with prior permissions of district administration… Nukkad Sabhas (meeting) will not be allowed on public roads, roundabouts or public streets or corners. Further, political parties and candidates are advised to conduct their campaign as much as possible through digital/virtual/media platforms/mobile-based mode instead of physical mode ensuring strict compliance of Covid safety norms,” it states.
“The convoy of vehicles shall be broken after every 5 (five) vehicles and interval between two sets of convoys of vehicles should be half an hour instead of a gap of 100 metres. During the permitted campaign period, convoy of vehicles will be allowed only for movement of vehicle from one point to another point for campaigning,” it adds.
“The maximum number of star campaigners for recognized national/state political parties has been fixed as 10, for unrecognised political parties it is five. Request for permission for campaign by star campaigners may be given at least 48 hours before the start of campaign to make all necessary safety arrangements,” it states.
The guidelines also make it clear that “no victory procession after the counting shall be allowed” and “not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorized representative to receive the certificate of election from Returning Officer”.
The limit of expenditure per candidate in the municipal polls is Rs 8 lakh. As of now, the BJP rules all three municipal corporations. While there are 104 wards in the South and North corporations, the East corporation has 64 wards.
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