Model Code Of Conduct Comes Into Force For Pipili Bypoll In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: With the Election Commission announcing the date for bypoll to Pipili Assembly constituency, the model code of conduct comes into effect Saturday.

The Commission has issued a set of guidelines on the number of participants at indoor meetings and instructed that congregations must not exceed 200 or 30 per cent of the allowed capacity. A register should also be maintained to keep a count of participants at such meeting, the Commission suggested.

In keeping with Covid-19 guidelines, the Commission has allowed conduct of public meetings with 50 per cent of capacity or 1000 in the case of star campaigners and 500 in all other cases. The meeting venue should be cordoned off and guarded by the police to monitor the number of people attending such meetings. The cost of barricading will have to be borne by the candidate or his party. Even grounds should be barricaded for holding rallies, the Commission suggested.

The poll panel has banned huge road shows and motor/bike/cycle rallies and allowed a maximum of 50 persons for such campaigns and five persons including candidates for door-to-door campaigns.

The audience shall not exceed 50 in case of video van for the campaign at one cluster point depending on availability of space in compliance with COVID guidelines, the ECI said.

The Commission has allowed a maxcimum of 20 vehicles for electioneering by a candidate or a  political party (excluding star campaigners) with 50 per cent of the capacity in each vehicle.

The electioneering shall end 72 hours before the commencement of polling, said the poll panel and insisted that not more than two vehicles shall be used on the election day, with not more than three persons in each.

The District Election Officers will be authorised to take appropriate measures to prevent crowding during voting and counting while maintaining social distancing and ensuring use of masks, sanitisers, thermal scanning and hand gloves as per COVID-19 protocol.

Candidates or political parties violating the guidelines will be barred from organising rallies and meeting immediately. All polling personnel and election officials including private persons engaged in the election duty shall be double vaccinated, insisted the Commission.

State Chief Secretary, DGP and the District Magistrate and police officials concerned shall take enough preventive measures to ensure that no poll-related violence occurs during pre and post-poll.