Election Commission's ban on rallies extended till January 31 with relaxations for phase 1 and 2

Amid a continuous spike in COVID cases in the country, the Election Commission on Saturday decided to extend the ban imposed on physical rallies and roadshows till next week, according to a media report. The commission had banned all physical rallies, roadshows, and padayatra to control the surge of coronavirus cases in the five poll-bound states- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

The Commission held a series of virtual meets today to decide whether the ban imposed by it on physical rallies and roadshows to prevent the spread of coronavirus should continue, and it was decided as there is no major improvement in the COVID situation in the country, the restriction would continue for at least another week, reported India Today quoting sources.

Earlier, announcing dates for assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur on January 8, the poll panel had announced a ban on physical rallies, road and bike shows, and similar campaigning events till January 15. However, when there was so significant change in COVID-19 situation, the commission extended the ban until January 22.

It had, however, granted a relaxation for political parties to hold indoor meetings of maximum 300 people or 50 per cent of the capacity of the hall.

The poll panel held the virtual meets to seek inputs from the Union Health Ministry, experts, the five poll-bound states and respective state chief electoral officers to arrive at a decision, official sources told news agency PTI.

Last week, the EC had also directed political parties to adhere to the provisions of model code of conduct and the broad guidelines of Covid. The ECI directed state/ district administration to ensure compliance of all instructions related to model code of conduct and Covid.