New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday relaxed restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 on campaigning for assembly elections in five states, allowing padyatras with a limited number of people and also reducing the duration of the ban on campaigning.
According to the commission, the election campaign can now be done between 6 am to 10 pm instead of 8 am to 8 pm.
As indicated by the new rules, pad Yatra (foot march), comprising not more than the allowed number of people according to State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) restrictions, is presently permitted. The pad yatras can proceed with the prior permission of district authorities.
The Election Commission on January 8, while announcing the polling schedule for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur, had banned direct rallies, roadshows and padyatras in view of the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The Commission is reviewing the pandemic situation from time to time and giving certain relaxations.
According to the new EC guidelines available on its official website:
- Ban on campaign timings will be between 10 pm to 6 am instead of 8 pm t 8 am before. Political parties/candidates may campaign from 6 am to 10p following all Covid-appropriate behaviour and protocols of SDMA.
- Political parties/candidates may hold their meetings and rallies up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the capacity of the designated open spaces or the limit prescribed by SDMA, whichever is less.
The EC has been assessing the COVID circumstance in the five poll-bound states. The EC held a review meeting with the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan about the ground circumstance of COVID. In the review meeting, it came to the front that the COVID circumstance has altogether improved and the cases are quick subsiding in the country.
Regardless of whether the most extreme cases are being accounted for from non-election states, the polling states are contributing a very small proportion of the total reported cases in the country.
During the last 24 hours, 50,407 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported from across the country. While 804 people died during this period. The positivity rate in the country has now increased to 3.48 percent. A day earlier i.e. on Thursday, 58,077 new infections were reported. Today a decline of about 8 thousand has been registered.