Ahead of polls, Haryana CEO meets representatives of political parties

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Aggarwal held a meeting with the representatives of political parties on Tuesday and detailed guidelines relating to the October 21 assembly polls in the state.

The guidelines, laid by the Election Commission of India for conduct of fair and transparent polls, relate to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), election expenditure and advertisements in media.

During the meeting, the Haryana CEO said the Commission has appointed officers from 24 departments as nodal officers to monitor the election expenditure, according to an official statement issued here.

The representatives of political parties were informed that each candidate can spend up to Rs 28 lakh for the campaign.

The candidates, before filing the nomination, are required to open a separate bank account and all poll-related expenditure can be made using that only, Aggarwal told the parties' representatives.

He said election expenditure supervisor will be appointed by the Commission to check poll expenses.

Till the time the MCC remains in force, citizens carrying Rs 50,000 or above with them are requested to carry relevant documents, Aggarwal said.

Before broadcast or circulation of any promotional material in electronic media or social media by political parties and candidates, it is important to get the approval from Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) constituted at the state and district levels, the Haryana CEO said.

The approval of MCMC is also required for publishing any advertisement or publicity material in newspapers by political parties and candidates, on the day of polling and one day before polling.

The political parties and candidates are also required to get approval of the MCMC for publishing advertisement or promotional material in electronic form of newspapers.