Ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in five states, and in light of the spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra on Saturday, 8 January announced that all political rallies will be prohibited till 15 January.
"No physical rally of political parties, probable candidates or any other group related to elections shall be allowed till 15 January," Chandra stated.
The political rallies include roadshows, padyatras, cycle/bike rallies and processions.
The CEC also added that the situation will be reviewed and fresh instructions will be issued later.
Other COVID-related protocols announced by the EC are as follows:
No rallies and public meetings will be allowed between 8pm and 8am
No nukkad sabhas will be held on public roads, streets and corners
For door-to-door campaign, no more than 5 people, including the candidate and security personnel, will be allowed
Each voting booth will attend to fewer number of voters
Senior citizens above 80 years of age, persons with disabilities, and COVID-19 patients will be able to cast their votes by postal ballot
All election officials and employees will be considered as frontline workers
All eligible officers will be vaccinated with a 'precautionary' dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
No victory procession will be allowed post the counting of votes, and no more than 2 people – the authorised personnel – will be allowed to accompany the winning candidate to collect the winning certificate from the Returning Officer
If physical rallies are organised after the moratorium by the EC, they will be in adherence to the existing COVID-19 guidelines
Number of people for indoor and outdoor meetings will be as per existing directions of SDMAs. Political parties will provide masks and sanitisers at entry and exit points for these meetings
Each candidate will be required to furnish an undertaking to the EC that they will follow all guidelines in this regard
Anybody violating the protocols will be punished under the Disaster Management Act, and will be liable to legal action under the IPC and other legal provisions
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand are set to go to the polls for electing new members of legislative assemblies.
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