India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
New
Delhi,
Feb
22:
The
Election
Commission
(EC)
on
Tuesday
further
relaxed
the
previously
imposed
50
percent
capacity
cap
on
meetings,
rallies,
and
roadshows
of
political
parties.
“Considering
the
fact
that
the
number
of
COVID
cases
have
become
very
small
in
the
poll
bound
states,
the
Commission,
taking
into
account
the
need
of
the
political
parties
and
candidates,
further
relaxes
the
restrictions
on
campaigning
with
the
immediate
effect,”
the
EC
notice
read.
The
previous
EC
order
had
said
that
“the
number
of
persons
attending
the
indoor/outdoor
meetings/rallies
will
be
limited
to
maximum
of
50
percent
of
the
capacity
of
Indoor
halls
and
30
percent
of
the
open
ground
capacity
or
as
fixed
by
DEO
as
per
requirement
of
the
social
distancing
norms
and
whichever
is
less.”
“All
other
existing
provisions
related
to
electioneering
shall
continue
to
operate,”
the
commission
said
in
an
official
order.
What
Are
New
Rules?
Now
the
Commission
has
allowed
the
Political
parties/candidates
to
hold
their
meetings
and
rallies
subject
to
SDMA
regulations.
Restriction
of
using
only
50
percent
capacity
of
space
has
been
relaxed.
Commission
has
also
allowed
Road
Shows
subject
to
SDMA
regulations
and
with
prior
permission
of
district
authorities.
Campaigning
is
on
for
the
two-phase
Manipur
assembly
elections
and
phases
five,
six
and
seven
of
the
Uttar
Pradesh
polls.
Story first published: Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 22:00 [IST]