With a drop in daily Covid-19 cases, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday announced relaxations in campaigning rules for political parties ahead of the second phase of Assembly elections in five states.
According to the new guidelines, pad yatra (foot march), consisting not more than the permitted number of persons as per State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) limitations, is now allowed. The padyatras can go ahead with prior permission from district authorities.According to the new EC guidelines:- 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 upto 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 taking stock of the Covid situation in the five poll-bound states. The EC held a review meeting with the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan about the ground situation of Covid. In the review meeting, it came to the fore that the Covid situation has significantly improved and the cases are fast receding in the country.
Even if the maximum cases are being reported from non-election states, the polling states are contributing a very small proportion of the total reported cases in the country.All-India figures for the Covid cases are fast receding from around 3.47 lakh on January 21 to just about 50,000 as on Saturday, February 12. In the poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, the total number of Covid cases, which were more than 32,000 on January 22, has come down to around 3,000 on February 12.
