COVID Curbs Relaxed For Panchayat Polls In Odisha, Check Details

With barely a week left for the end of the campaigning for the upcoming three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha, the State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced some relaxations on candidate campaigning.

As per the decision, the SEC has announced that candidates can conduct door-to-door campaigning with a maximum of 20 persons. Earlier, only five persons were allowed to accompany contestants in the door-to-door campaign.

Apart from this, the Commission has allowed outdoor meetings with a limit of 300 persons. However, such meetings will be allowed subject to condition that everybody will ensure strict compliance of Covid-19 protocols including social distancing norms.

The SEC's decision on relaxations to some pandemic curbs comes in line with significant dip in the reports of daily Coronavirus cases in the State.

While announcing the relaxations, the State Election Commissioner Aditya Prasad Padhi said, “The decision has been made following the review of the Covid-19 situation. A reassessment meeting was held with district Collectors and it was found that precautionary dose has been administered to about 80 to 90 per cent polling staff. There are plans to achieve 100 percent target in the next 2 to 3 days.”

According to Padhi, all the other restrictions on conduct of rallies, pada yatra, cycle or motorcycle rally will remain in force as usual.

As per the schedule, the three-tier Panchayat elections in Odisha will be held in five phases - on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24.

The counting of votes will take place at block headquarters level on February 26, 27 and 28.

On the forthcoming Urban Civic Body polls in the State, SEC Padhi further said that the final draft publication of the electoral roll will be published by February 10.