New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the relaxation of more curbs related to Covid-19 measures ahead of assembly elections scheduled to be held in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur this month.
"Restrictions regarding outdoor meeting/indoor meetings/rallies will be further relaxed subject to condition that the number of persons attending the indoor/outdoor/meetings/rallies will be limited to a maximum of 50 per cent of the capacity of indoor halls or 30 per cent of the open ground capacity or as fixed by the District Election Officer (DEO) as per requirement of the social distancing norms and whichever is less," the notification read.
However, all restrictions will be subject to certain conditions, the notice added.
The ban on roadshows, foot marches, vehicle rallies, victory processions will remain in place and the ban on campaigning which extends to 12 hours will also stay, the ECI announced. The number of people allowed to participate in door to door campaigns will also remain fixed at 20.
The election body also noted that in case State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in respective states has announced ceilings for indoor/outdoor gatherings, and if these are stricter, then SDMA guidelines will prevail.
The decision to ease the restrictions was taken after considering reports from special election observers, chief secretaries and a meeting with the Union Health Secretary in the wake of declining cases of Covid-19, the Election Commission explained.
Union Health Secretary briefed the Commission about the ground situation of Covid-19 and stated that the poll going states are contributing a very small proportion of the total reported cases in the country.
The ECI announced the poll schedule for the 5 states on January 8. Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state, will vote in 7 phases, between February 10 and March 7. Voters in Manipur will poll on February 27 and March 3. Uttarakhand and Goa will vote only on February 14, while the only date for polling in Punjab is February 20 (revised from February 14).