Patna, Oct 8 (IANS) The announcement of Bihar polling dates by the Election Commission has set the stage for year’s biggest electoral battle and also gave strong momentum to political activity in the state.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) got enforced with the announcement of dates on Monday and now the ECI has issued directions for strict implementation of the poll code in the state.

As the MCC prohibits the Centre as well as Bihar government from any policy announcements, the ECI has also issued directions to the Chief Secretary and Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar in this regard.

The Commission has directed to ensure strict compliance with instructions, related to removal of defacement from government, public and private property, misuse of official vehicles or Government accommodation by any political party and ban on issuance of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer.

“The privacy of citizens must be respected, with no demonstrations or picketing outside private residences. Land, buildings, or walls shall not be used for flags, banners, or posters without the owner’s consent,” it said.

The poll body has also set up a complaint monitoring system, including a call centre number 1950 in which complaint can be lodged by any member of the public or political party, with the DEO/RO concerned. This system has been operationalised 24X7.

Citizens/political parties can also report MCC violations using the C-Vigil App on ECINET. 824 Flying squads have been deployed across the state to ensure that the complaints are attended to within 100 minutes.

The Commission has further directed that there will be a ban on the transfer of all officers/officials connected with the conduct of elections.

Officials at all levels have been directed to act impartially in enforcing MCC, ensuring equal treatment of all parties and preventing misuse of official facilities.

“Public places such as maidans and helipads must be equally available to all parties on the same terms. The SUVIDHA module has been activated on ECINET where political parties can apply for usage of such public places which should be allocated on first come first served basis,” the EC said in a release.

The poll panel has directed the political parties to inform the police in advance, if they want to carry out any procession or party meetings so that the local public is not inconvenienced and traffic is not choked.

It has further advised ministers not to combine official duties with electioneering or use government machinery, transport, or personnel for campaign purposes.

–IANS

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