Election Commission extends ban on rallies till Jan 31

New Delhi: The Election Commission has extended its ban on physical poll rallies and roadshows ahead of the five Assembly elections scheduled next month till January 31. This ban was imposed by the Election Commission earlier this month on account of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

The announcement comes after the Election Commission held virtual meetings with representatives of the Union Ministry of Health, the chief electoral officers of the five poll-bound states and others to review its decision. However, the Election Commission announced some relaxations for political parties on Saturday. These include:

Public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates in Phase 1 of the elections has been permitted from January 28 onwards. These must be held in designated open spaces with a maximum of 500 people or 50 per cent of the capacity of the ground.

Public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates in Phase 2 of the elections has been permitted from February 1 onwards.

These must be held in designated open spaces with a maximum of 500 people or 50 per cent of the capacity of the ground.

For door-to-door campaigns, the maximum number of people has been increased from five to ten.

Video vans for publicity have been permitted at designated open spaces, on the condition that Covid norms are followed.

Earlier, when the Election Commission had extended the ban on physical rallies till January 22, it had allowed political parties to hold indoor meetings with a maximum of 300 people or 50 per cent of the capacity of the hall.