Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
The Election Commission on Saturday extended the ban on physical rallies and roadshows in five poll-bound states till January 31 amid the third wave of the Covid pandemic in the country.
The decision was taken by the Election Commission following a meeting with the Union health secretary and the chief health secretaries of the five states.
The commission has, however, granted relaxation for physical public meetings of political parties/contesting candidates for Phase 1 from January 28, for Phase 2 from February 1. The upper limit of five people permitted for the door-to-door campaign has been enhanced to 10. Video vans for publicity have been permitted at designated open spaces with Covid restrictions.
Initially, the ban was on January 15 which was then extended by a week till January 22. The ban was imposed on January 8 when the Election Commission announced the election schedule for these five states following which the model code of conduct came into effect.
The case trajectory of the five states and the vaccination coverage are key factors in allowing relaxations.
As far as vaccination is concerned, Uttar Pradesh which currently has 98,238 active Covid cases has inoculated 96% of its population with the first dose in the 18 plus category. Uttarakhand has vaccinated 99% of its population with the first dose and 84% with the second dose. Goa has vaccinated 98% of its population above 18 years of age with a second dose of the vaccine.
