Assembly polls: Election Commission extends ban on public rallies, roadshows till January 22

Amid a surge in Covid-19 circumstances, the Election Fee on Saturday prolonged its ban on bodily rallies and roadshows till January 22 within the 5 poll-bound states. The ballot panel, nonetheless, granted a leisure for the political events to the extent that indoor conferences of most 300 individuals or 50 per cent of the capability of the corridor, or the prescribed restrict set by state catastrophe administration authorities, an official assertion stated.

The Fee additionally directed political events to stick to the provisions of the mannequin code of conduct and broader pointers on Covid-19.

The ballot panel directed state and district administrations to make sure compliance of all directions associated to the ballot code and to the pandemic management measures.

Whereas saying the ballot schedule for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand Manipur, Goa and Punjab on January 8, the EC had taken an unprecedented step of banning public rallies, roadshows and comparable bodily campaigning occasions until January 15. The ban has now been prolonged by an extra one week