Assembly polls: EC extends ban on roadshows, political rallies till February 11

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday extended the ban on roadshows and political rallies in all poll-bound states till February 11 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country. The commission, however, granted some more relaxations to the restrictions in place. These include increasing the upper limit of persons in physical public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates to 1,000 from the current 500 or 50 per cent of the venue capacity - whichever is lesser. This rule will be effective from February 1 for all phases of the five assembly elections.

The EC also increased the capacity for door-to-door campaigns to 20 people from the current 10. This, however, does not include security personnel of politicians, according to an official statement.Indoor meetings of political parties that were capped till now at 300 or 50 per cent of the hall capacity can now accommodate 500 patrons.All other restrictions on padayatra (foot march), cycle or bike or vehicle rallies, and processions will continue to remain banned till February 11.In the official statement, the EC said the decision to extend the ban was taken after a meeting of chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra with election commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey earlier in the day.The commission said all chief secretaries of poll-bound states informed it that Covid-19 cases in their respective regions have either begun “plateauing out” or are tapering. They added the case positivity rate is also showing a declining trend but stressed on the continued need to have Covid-19 protocols as a precautionary measure to keep any “undue spurt” of fresh infections at bay.“Political parties and contesting candidates shall ensure the compliance of Covid-appropriate behaviour and guidelines and model code of conduct at all occasions during the activities connected with elections,” the ECI statement said.