Common School

Common School – A Path towards Free and Compulsory Education

1. Introduction
1.1 This paper attempts to define the understanding of the term Common school from its very roots. The concept ‘common school’ marched into India through the Kothari Commission 1964 from the United States. Hence the history and evolution of the concept from the days of colonial USA is given substantial importance.
2. Meaning
2.1. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions. A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. Common schools were funded by local taxes, did not charge tuition, and were open to all children, at least all white children. Typically, with a small amount of state oversight, each district was controlled by an elected local school board. Traditionally a county school superintendent or regional director was elected to supervise day-to-day activities of several common school districts.[Ref: wikipedia]
3. Evolution
3.1. Free schools open to all children did not exist in colonial America. Yet, something like modern American public schools developed in the 1840s, when a majority of voters in the northern regions of the United States decided that it would be wise to create state-mandated and locally controlled free schools. Once this model of schooling prevailed, the stage was set for the creation of an inclusive free-school system in the United States.
3.2. In the British colonies of the 17th and 18th centuries, schooling was not compulsory, not free of charge, not secular, not open to all, and not even central to most children's education. Decisions about the provision of schools were made town-by-town. Girls were often excluded, or allowed to attend only the lower -level schools, and sometimes at different hours from the boys. In most towns, parents had to pay part of the tuition to get their young educated. These barriers to the education of all, characterized the New England colonies in the Northeast as well as those in the middle-Atlantic and the South. In those sections of North America which were then governed by Spain or France, even less was done for education. Christian missionaries made intermittent efforts to evangelize Native Americans and African Americans through religious education across North America; but schooling, whether local or continental, was not primarily a governmental matter
3.3. However, in spite of patchwork, casual customs of schooling throughout the British colonies, there was a push for literacy among many colonists, based largely on the Protestant belief that lay people should learn to read the Bible in the vernacular tongue (that is, for British colonists, in English, rather than Latin or Greek). Passing a law in 1647 for the provision of schools, the legislature decreed, towns of over 50 families should provide a school. They did not specify that the education had to be free, nor did they require attendance. The law was weakly enforced. In effect, parents decided whether to send their children; if they did, they had to pay part or all of the cost; and religion was without doubt or question intertwined with education in those days.
3.4. Formal schooling was more extensive for a tiny elite, as it was in America's parent country, England. In the colonies, only a few boys of European ancestry might go on to more advanced schools for English grammar and then, for an even smaller number, tutoring in Latin, leading to Harvard College, or Yale, or William and Mary. The majority of these privileged few then became ministers, rather than leaders in secular society.
3.5. However, as colonial society became more highly populated, more complex, and more driven by faction in the 18th century, competition among rival Protestant denominations and quarrels developed over religious doctrine. In addition, political and financial issues ultimately brought relations between the colonists and the English homeland to a breaking point. Thus, the uses of literacy for argumentation – both in oral and written form – grew. And as agriculture became more commercial and efficient, it brought more cash transactions, more focus on single crops, and the prospect of more distant markets, into the countryside, reinforcing the value of literacy. In the growing coastal towns of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston, and in some inland centers like Albany and Hartford, philanthropic groups and churches, responding to the increase in poverty and its visibility, established free schools for the moral education of poor children, on the model of English "charity" schools
3.6. Many of the Revolution's leaders including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush thought education should be in the top list of priority. Jefferson wrote from France in 1786, advising a friend to "preach a crusade against ignorance," and support free schools in Virginia. Rush, a Philadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, proposed a similar bill for free schools in Pennsylvania
3.7. But their efforts failed in their state legislatures. Americans were wary of any increase in taxes (which had been a major point of contention with England) and did not want their fledgling state governments to meddle in affairs that had always been local matters for towns or families to decide.
3.8. Thus, in the countryside, towns still decided whether to have a school, and if so, how to fund it. The cost was usually covered through some combination of taxes on all citizens plus tuition fees for the parents of children who attended. Sometimes parents paid by providing food for the teacher or firewood for the school, but usually it was cash. Parental payments were called "rate bills." Sometimes the school would be free for all children for a set amount of time and then a "continuation" school would be provided for those whose parents were able to pay. Thus the amount of schooling a child received was in the last analysis determined by wealth. At most, there would be a single school for each town or district. Blacks and Indians in general received no formal schooling in these institutions. Even for white children, the terms were brief, the teachers often poorly educated, and the buildings generally in poor condition
4. The Monitorial School Model
4.1. Even in the 18th century in urban areas, there were several different kinds of schools, funded in different ways and with different levels of financial resources. A modest amount of "charity" schooling provided some free instruction for children of poor whites and of African Americans, often subsidized by churches and by state and local government. Such efforts resulted in African Free Schools, "infant" schools for the two- and three-year-old children of the indigent, and other types of sponsorship. As time passed and as concern grew, many cities in the new Republic experimented with a type of charity school, the "monitorial" school, which became popular in England, Europe, and Latin America in the 1810s and ‘20s. Invented by Joseph Lancaster, a Quaker schoolmaster in England, the "monitorial" school model encouraged more advanced pupils to teach those who were less advanced. At a time when boys were routinely paddled for school in fractions, advocates applauded Lancaster's ideas about motivation without corporal punishment, discipline motivated by an active curriculum and competition, neutrality with regard to religious denominations, and, perhaps most important, economy of expense. Lancaster claimed that with his system a single master could teach 500 poor children at a time.
4.2. In New York City and in Philadelphia, reformers organized entire networks of Lancasterian monitorial schools, systems that became the physical and organizational basis of the later public free schools of those cities. Later critics derided the monitorial schools for regimenting their poor students and separating them from other children, but Lancaster's ideas helped popularize the notion of a school "system," referring not only to the pedagogy and curriculum but to the organization of schools into a network.
4.3. For parents with a bit more money, there were inexpensive pay schools advertised in the newspapers, taking in children whose parents could afford a few shillings a quarter. The wealthy educated their children with private tutors or sent them to expensive boarding schools in the English style, now increasingly available to the English-speaking ex-colonials. The cream of society might even send their favored sons and daughters to acquire intellectual and social finesse in academies abroad. Well into the 1820s and ‘30s, "free" education thus connoted only limited privileges granted to the poor, and was distinctly dependent on the goodwill of local congregations, both Protestant and Catholic, or perhaps the largesse of nondenominational philanthropic societies. In New York and elsewhere these charity schools might receive some support, variously from the city council or the state. Our current distinction between "private" and "public" education had not yet crystallized.
4.4. Meanwhile, in the small towns and countryside, where a majority of Americans still lived, school reformers of the 1840s worked to end the discriminatory practices of continuation schools and rate bills, recommending instead that schools be supported entirely by property taxes. In effect, this meant that all property owners would subsidize education for the entire community. Traditional opponents of taxation labeled this an unwarranted and oppressive intrusion of state government into local affairs; however, Henry Barnard, Connecticut's school superintendent, called it "the cardinal idea of the free school system." Reformers also urged the centralization of the little rural districts into larger town-wide units, for better supervision and support. Simultaneously, in urban settings, school reformers of the same period began to focus their efforts on absorbing the charity schools into free public school systems and then trying to attract the children of more affluent parents into these "common" schools. The idea of the school as a common, equal meeting ground took on great force for reformers, and they aimed their criticisms at the evils of private schools. A system of private schools for the rich, said Orville Taylor in 1837, "is not republican. This is not allowing all, as far as possible, a fair start." The present system, Henry Barnard complained, "classifies society . . . assorting children according to the wealth, education, or outward circumstances of their parents." As Jefferson had discovered earlier, however, old practices die hard.
4.5. There remained much support for small-scale district control. In Massachusetts, for example, traditional Protestants of the Congregational denomination rightly perceived that the state would use its influence to discourage the advocacy of particular doctrines in such common schools. In New York state, a petition from a little town in Onondaga County complained that the newly passed school law of 1849 allowed people "to put their hands into their neighbors' pockets" to get support for schools. Roman Catholics in New York City fought the creation of a single public school system, arguing that it would be biased toward Protestant beliefs. Thus, in many states, opponents of the reforms enacted in the first part of the 19th century won repeal in state legislatures and in municipal councils of key elements. In some states, the centralization of districts into towns went through waves of passage and repeal. In 1842, opponents of reform abolished the position of state superintendent of instruction in Connecticut. The Hartford Times, a Democratic paper, called such centralized power "despotic" and "Prussian." Similar attempts to abolish the job of state superintendent failed narrowly in Massachusetts and Ohio.
4.6. Nonetheless, during the 15-year period from 1838 to 1853, most states in the Northeast (from Maine down the coast to Maryland) and the "old" Northwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin) authorized the position of state school superintendent and required towns to provide totally free schools through property taxes. What had happened between the generation of Jefferson and the generation of Horace Mann to tip the balance? We should look first at the country's economic development.
4.7. The Industrial Revolution, spawned by the cotton gin and the widespread development of steam engines, for one, had fueled further European immigration into the United States, a sprawling, crowded urbanization, and the differentiation of the economic functions of the country's three main regions in the three decades before 1860. The Midwest became an agricultural powerhouse, as well as a processing and shipping region, spawning new cities and rail transportation. Since the region's labor force was free of slavery, new European immigrants moved into the Midwest en masse. In the Northeast, agriculture, often based on small farms and in hilly country with rocky soil, became less profitable, while factory production, particularly of textiles and shoes, absorbed more and more of the labor force and dotted the landscape with new conglomerations of brick industrial towns and cities. The South, with its slave labor force and its staple crops of cotton, tobacco, and rice, remained largely rural in the decades leading up to the Civil War that would finally put an end to slavery.
4.8. It would be an oversimplification, however, to say that as economies developed, "common" schools flourished entirely as a result. Each stage contributed to progress, and each threatened to provoke a backlash. In particular, the arrival of many Roman Catholics from Ireland and Germany among the immigrants to the northern United States in the 1830s and ‘40s sparked a renewed chapter in the long history of Protestant-Catholic conflict, creating anxieties among leading groups of Protestants, who became persuaded that they should set aside their own denominational tensions and doctrinal disputes, at least in the education arena, while putting forward a program of moral education and a view of history that would support their values. In order to do this, the American elite and the Protestant majority had to be in favor, essentially, of centralized schooling, and they had to abandon some traditions of rural independence, cultural separatism, and local control.
5. The Role of the Whig Party
5.1. The political party that best represented progressive Protestantism in the three decades prior to the Civil War was the Whig Party. Born in the 1820s, the Whig Party as time went on increasingly based its politics on government activism that included programs of institution building, economic development, and moral regulation – resulting in canals, insane asylums, temperance societies whose purpose was to discourage alcohol abuse, and free public schools. Most of the early state superintendents of public instruction of the 1840s were Whigs, and most of the laws to create the first school systems were Whig-sponsored.
5.2. There was some bipartisan support, to be sure. Many Democrats also supported free education for all and wanted schools to teach children morals, the glories of America's past, and the virtues of its political institutions. Yet it fell to the Democratic Party of the day to favor local control and oppose strong state government intervention. Criticizing this view, Whig leader William Seward, the governor of New York, said it was absurd to think that a nation could employ its resources in carrying on war, punishing crime, and fighting sedition but could not employ the same resources to "avert the calamities of war, provide for the public security, prevent sedition, improve the public morals, and increase the general happiness."
5.3. It was a hard-fought battle. But in a relatively short period, from 1837 to 1853, every state legislature in the North passed into law most of the key features of common free school systems. To prevail in these hard-fought battles, common school advocates, working largely through the Whig Party, had to convince a majority of their compatriots that common schools could play a critical role, not just in providing people a more equal chance at education, but in consolidating the country's culture around republican, capitalist, and Protestant values.
5.4. In the South, a regionally strong 19th-century Democratic Party, localism, a laissez-faire tradition about education, and a strong belief in a hierarchical society based on slave labor, combined to thwart the more democratic and middle-class values of the region's school reformers. Free common schools would come to the South only in the aftermath of the 1861-65 Civil War, first introduced and promoted by the Reconstruction legislatures that included black legislators in the 1860s and early ‘70s. Then, in the late 19th century, when Southern white Democrats had returned to power in the state legislatures, the region gradually moved toward free school systems based on property taxes, but separate for blacks and whites and unequal in their resources. Indeed, there was much racial segregation in the North as well, and schools for racial minorities across the nation generally had poorer resources.
5.5. As the modern common school system began to acquire a clear shape in the North between 1837 and 1853, it retained evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, features. Governance, while devolved from strictly local groups, was still shared between local and state authorities, with increasing federal involvement in the 20th century. The amount of control retained to this day by local, elected school boards in the United States is unique among the industrial nations of the world, and testifies to how dearly the concept of local control of school curricula and of their budgets still appeals to the average American.
5.6. However, by introducing a modicum of state regulation, and in persuading local school districts to remove all parental fees for children's school attendance, the common school reformers affected a significant shift. Class bias was ameliorated if not eliminated. The ground was prepared for some integration by race. Both sexes were ultimately seen as entitled to equal educational opportunity Horace Mann declared in 1848 that in America, common, public schools would be "the balance wheel of the social machinery," and the idea of equality of opportunity – in many senses implicit in the texts of the Declaration of Independence and in the U.S. Constitution – was reinforced and expanded by that declaration, and similar reformist credos. However, the balance wheel metaphor has another, perhaps unintended meaning.
5.7. A balance wheel keeps machinery from shaking apart. This is what has kept public schools attractive to most of the public in most parts of the country for the past century and a half. Americans have consistently believed that common public schools are necessary to teach common values, common knowledge of the political system, respect for institutions, respect for property, and other values that are needed to keep a democratic system from flying apart. Thus, while promoting equality, public schools in United States are seen by some as essentially conservative social institutions that continue some level of traditional cultural distinctions on the base of race, class, and even on talent within a democratic framework.
5.8. The retention of local control and the reliance on local taxes to this day creates inequalities in per- pupil expenditures. Organization of school districts along residential neighborhood lines has continued racial separatism in public education, in spite of massive attempts on the part of the federal judiciary to change this over the past half century. And very large public schools practice a certain amount of sub-organization aimed at recognizing scholarly aptitude. To this day, the values and the curriculum of the "common" public schools remain skewed towards the cultural institutions and beliefs of traditional American Protestants. Nonetheless, as promoters of the "melting pot" concept of assimilation, public schools remain popular. Even over the past few decades, which have seen new waves of immigration from developing nations, American public schools have consistently enrolled about 90 percentage of the school-age population.
5.9. The common school system therefore by its evolution would mean a system of education run by the state with common syllabus, free of cost, and uniformity in standard for people of all classes, race and religion in a country within the neighbour hood of the Child.
6. Form here the common school system marched into our country through the Kothari Commission Report in the year 1966. The committee was appointed in the year 1964. This committee report is widely spoken about and this report became the basis of National educational policy 1986 and 1992. When the committee spoke of the Common school its idea of the system was
• Publicly funded schools open to all children irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, economic condition or social status
• Where access to good education will depend not on wealth or class
• Adequate standards in all schools and at least a reasonable proportion of quality institutions
• No tuition fee is charged
• It meets the expectations of average parents so that they would not ordinarily feel the need to send their children to fee-charging schools outside the system.
Thus it is very clear that the very concept of common school in India is in lines with its meaning in its homeland.
7. Thus a public (state run) school with common syllabus integrating all the good of other boards with the medium of instruction in the regional language within the neighbour hood of the children is what perceived form the term Common school.
8. Constitutional and legal aspects

8.1. Looking in to the Constitutional and legal aspects of the School education, much need not be debated on the education as a Fundamental Right. As on date, Education stands as an established Fundamental Right. Even among those who oppose the system of common school base themselves on their Fundamental Right to education of their choice. However, the irony is that the choice is made from the paradigm of the dominant parent and not from the paramount consideration of the child’s need. The question before us is our path towards the Constitutional directive of Free and compulsory Education, which ought to have been achieved by the year 1960.

8.2. Even before the constitution was fully brought into force we approved its Pre Amble in the form of an Objective Resolution. By this we decided that we shall herein after constitute our nation into a Sovereign Democratic Republic (socialist and secular inserted in the year 1976 w.e.f. 1977) and secure to all citizens few of the very basic concepts. The first and foremost of them is the Justice of Social, Economical and Political. The idea behind saying Justice of Social, Economical and Political by itself signifies that there cannot be complete justice if there is injustice in any one form. The very objective resolution also says to secure Equality of Status and of Opportunity. Meaning to say that without the equality in status and opportunity there is no means for securing the ends of justice.

8.3. Thus every action of the state towards the development of our nation ought to focus to eradicate inequalities in all forms. This idea is emphasised in every possible way throughout the constitution. The very first spell of our Fundamental Rights in Part 3 is the Right to Equality followed by a series of anti negative discrimination clauses and protective discrimination clauses. It is only then under Part IV that the Directive for Free and compulsory education has been spelled out.

8.4. The Directives in Part IV may not be one that could be enforced in the Court of law. But stopping at that end is synonymous of the famous saying ‘Aswathama Athaga’. The story was that with the very saying of those words conch was blown and the reminder of the words were not allowed to be heard. Who was that Aswathama, was not brought to light until the thing to be done was done. Thus in Article 33 of the Constitution, more stress and noise have been given to the words ‘not justiciable’ and the words following them ‘shall however be fundamental in Governance’ have been ignored. By saying Fundamental in Governance it means that the provision of Free and compulsory Education is one of the principle mandates of the Governments both Union and State.

8.5. Thus it is clear that equality should be the blood of our actions. Then how come justice be done in the field of education without equality. Our School system should thus be seen from this scenario. Difference in board, difference in standards, difference in fees difference in infrastructure, difference syllabus all falls heavily against the very concept of equality in education.

9. Issues of minority

9.1. The Linguistic minorities have a special position in the constitution and their interest cannot be compromised before the larger interest. For this should they be deprived of the benefits of a free and compulsory education, should their children suffer the pain of a long journey to school, should they be kept away in a different syllabus.

10. Pluralistic out look
10.1. The common point raised against the common school system is that it deprives the pluralistic characteristic of the Indian Culture. What prevents our state in imparting the pluralistic form of India in a uniform syllabus under a common board within the neighbourhood of each of the child.

Referance:
1. http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2008/April/20080423212501eaifas0.8516133.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_school

the history of american common school was taken from the Article by Carl f. Kaestle. the link to the Article is given above.

Carl F. Kaestle is a professor of education, history, and public policy at Brown University. He joined the faculty at Brown in July of 1997, after teaching at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. His writings include Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780-1860, and Literacy in the United States: Readers and Reading Since 1880. Recently he was a principal consultant and professional commentator in the public television documentary "School.”

moral code of conduct for elections

ELECTION CMMISSION OF INDIA - MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE GUIDANCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES

1. General Conduct
(1) No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.

(2) Criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work. Parties and Candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.

(3) There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes.
Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as
forum for election propaganda.

(4) All parties and candidates shall avoid scrupulously all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offences under the election law, such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters, canvassing within 100 meters of polling stations, holding public meetings during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll, and the transport and conveyance of voters to and from polling station.

(5)The right of every individual for peaceful and undisturbed home-life shall be
respected, however much the political parties or candidates may resent his political opinions or activities. Organising demonstrations or picketing before the houses of individuals by way of protesting against their opinions or activities shall not be resorted to under any circumstances.

(6) No political party or candidate shall permit its or his followers to make use of any individual’s land, building, compound wall etc., without his permission for erecting flag-staffs, suspending banners, pasting notices, writing slogans etc.

(7) Political parties and candidates shall ensure that their supporters do not create obstructions in or break up meetings and processions organised by other parties. Workers or sympathisers of one political party shall not create disturbances at public meetings organised by another political party by putting questions orally or in writing or by distributing leaflets of their own party. Processions shall not be taken out by one party along places at which meetings are held by another party. Posters issued by one party shall not be removed by workers of another party.

II. Meetings
(1) The party or candidate shall inform the local police authorities of the venue and time any proposed meeting Well in time so as to enable the police to make necessary arragements for controlling traffic and maintaining peace and order.

(2) A Party or candidate shall ascertain in advance if there is any restrictive or prohibitory order in force in the place proposed for the meeting if such orders exist, they shall be followed strictly. If any exemption is required from such orders, it shall be applied for and obtained well in time.

(3) If permission or license is to be obtained for the use of loudspeakers or any other facility in connection with any proposed meeting, the party or candidate shall apply to the authority concerned well in advance and obtain such permission or license.

(4) Organisers of a meeting shall invariably seek the assistance of the police on duty for dealing with persons disturbing a meeting or otherwise attempting to create disorder. Organisers themselves shall not take action against such persons.

III Procession
(1) A Party or candidate organizing a procession shall decide before hand the time and place of the starting of the procession, the route to be followed and the time and place at which the procession will terminate. There shall ordinary be on deviation from the programme.

(2) The organisers shall give advance intimation to the local police authorities of the programme so as to enable the letter to make necessary arrangement.

(3) The organisers shall ascertain if any restrictive orders are in force in the localities through which the procession has to pass, and shall comply with the restrictions unless exempted specially by the competent authority. Any traffic regulations or restrictions shall also be carefully adhered to.

(4) The organisers shall take steps in advance to arrange for passage of the procession so that there is no block or hindrance to traffic. If the procession is very long, it shall be organised in segments of suitable lengths, so that at convenient intervals, especially at points where the procession has to pass road junctions, the passage of held up traffic could be allowed by stages thus avoiding heavy traffic congestion.

(5) Processions shall be so regulated as to keep as much to the right of the road as possible and the direction and advice of the police on duty shall be strictly complied with.

(6) If two or more political parties or candidates propose to take processions over the same route or parts thereof at about the same time, the organisers shall
establish contact well in advance and decide upon the measures to be taken to see that the processions do not clash or cause hindrance to traffic. The assistance of the local police shall be availed of for arriving at a satisfactory arrangement. For this purpose the parties shall contact the police at the earliest opportunity.

(7) The political parties or candidates shall exercise control to the maximum extent possible in the matter of processionists carrying articles which may be put to misuse by undesirable elements especially in moments of excitement.

(8) The carrying of effigies purporting to represent member of other political parties or their leaders, burning such effigies in public and such other forms demonstration shall not be countenanced by any political party or candidate.

IV. Polling Day
All Political parties and candidates shall –
(i) co-operate with the officers on election duty to ensure peaceful and orderly
polling and complete freedom to the voters to exercise their franchise without
being subjected to any annoyance or obstruction.
(ii) supply to their authorized workers suitable badges or identity cards.
(iii) agree that the identity slip supplied by them to voters hall be on plain (white) paper and shall not contain any symbol, name of the candidate or the name of the party;
(iv) refrain from serving or distributing liquor on polling day and during the
fourty eight hours preceding it
(v) not allow unnecessary crowd to be collected near the camps set up by the
political parties and candidates near the polling booths so as to avoid Confrontation and tension among workers and sympathizers of the parties and the candidate.
(vi) ensure that the candidate’s camps shall be simple .The shall not display any posters, flags, symbols or any other propaganda material. No eatable shall be served or crowd allowed at the camps and
(vii) co-operate with the authorities in complying with the restrictions to be imposed on the plying of vehicles on the polling day and obtain permits for them which should be displayed prominently on those vehicles.

V. Polling Booth
Excepting the voters, no one without a valid pass from the Election Commission shall enter the polling booths.


VI. Observers
The Election Commission is appointing Observers. If the candidates or their agents have any specific complaint or problem regarding the conduct of elections they may bring the same to the notice of the Observer.

VII. Party in Power
The party in power whether at the Centre or in the State or States concerned, shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign and in particular –
(i) (a) The Ministers shall not combine their official visit with electioneering work and shall not also make use of official machinery or personnel during the
electioneering work.
(b) Government transport including official air-crafts, vehicles, machinery and personnel shall not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power; (ii) Public places such as maidans etc., for holding election meetings, and use of helipads for air-flights in connection with elections shall not be monopolized by itself. Other parties and candidates shall be allowed the use of such places and facilities on the same terms and conditions on which they are used by the party in power;
(iii) Rest houses, dark bungalows or other Government accommodation shall not be monopolized by the party in power or its candidates and such accommodation shall be allowed to be used by other parties and candidates in a fair manner but no party or candidate shall use or be allowed to use such accommodation (including premises appertaining thereto) as a campaign office or for holding any public meeting for the purposes of election propaganda;
(iv) Issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in the newspapers and other media and the misuse of official mass media during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power shall be scrupulously avoided.
(v) Ministers and other authorities shall not sanction grants/payments out of discretionary funds from the time elections are announced by the Commission; and
(vi) From the time elections are announced by Commission, Ministers and other authorities shall not –
(a) announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof; or
(b) (except civil servants) lay foundation stones etc. of projects or schemes of any kind; or
(c) make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water
facilities etc.; or
(d) make any ad-hoc appointments in Government, Public Undertakings
etc. which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the
party in power.
Note : The Commission shall announce the date of any election which shall be a date ordinarily not more than three weeks prior to the date on which the
notification is likely to be issued in respect of such elections.
(vii) Ministers of Central or State Government shall not enter any polling station or place of counting except in their capacity as a candidate or voter or authorised agent.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. 1. What is the Model Code of Conduct?
Ans. The Model Code of Conduct for guidance of political parties and candidates is a set of norms which has been evolved with the consensus of political parties who have consented to abide by the principles embodied in the said code and also binds them to respect and observe it in its letter and spirit.

Q. 2. What is the role of Election Commission in the matter?
Ans. The Election Commission ensures its observance by political party(ies) in power, including ruling parties at the Centre and in the States and contesting candidates in the discharge of its constitutional duties for conducting the free, fair and peaceful elections to the Parliament and the State Legislatures under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. It is also ensured that official machinery for the electoral purposes is not misused. Further, it is also ensured that electoral offences, malpractices and corrupt practices such as impersonation, bribing and inducement of voters, threat and intimidation to the voters are prevented by all means. In case of violation, appropriate measures are taken.

Q. 3. From which date the Model Code of Conduct is enforced and operational upto which date?
Ans. The Model Code of Conduct is enforced from the date of announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission and is operational till the process of elections are completed.

Q. 4. What is applicability of code during general elections and bye-elections?
Ans. a. During general elections to House of People (Lok Sabha), the code is applicable throughout the country.
b. During general elections to the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), the code is applicable in the entire State.
c. During bye-elections, the code is applicable in the entire district or districts in which the constituency falls.

Q. 5. What are the salient features of the Model Code of Conduct?
Ans. The salient features of the Model Code of Conduct lay down how political parties, contesting candidates and party(s) in power should conduct themselves during the process of elections i.e. on their general conduct during electioneering, holding meetings and processions, poll day activities and functioning of the party in power etc.
ON OFFICIAL MACHINERY
Q. 6. Whether a Minister can combine his official visit with
electioneering work?
Ans. No, The Ministers shall not combine their official visit with electioneering work and shall not also make use of official, machinery or personnel during the electioneering work.

Q. 7. Whether Govt. transport can be used for electioneering work?
Ans. No, No transport including official air-crafts, vehicles etc. shall be used for furtherance of the interest of any party or a candidate.

Q. 8. Whether Govt. can make transfers and postings of officials who are related to election work?
Ans. There shall be a total ban on the transfer and posting of all officers/officials directly or indirectly connected with the conduct of the election. If any transfer or posting of an officer is considered necessary, prior approval of the Commission shall be obtained.

Q. 9. Suppose an officer related to election work has been transferred by the Govt. before enforcement of model code of conduct and has not taken over charge at new place. Can such officer take over charge of office at new place after announcement of the code?
Ans. No, Status-quo-ante shall be maintained.

Q. 10. Whether a Minister of Union or State can summon any election related officer of the constituency or the State for any official discussion during the period of elections?
Ans. No Minister, whether of Union or State, can summon any election related officer of the constituency or the State for any official discussions anywhere. If Union Minister is traveling out of Delhi on purely official business, which cannot be avoided in public interest, then a letter certifying to this effect should be sent from the concerned Secretary of the Ministry/Department to the Chief Secretary of the concerned State, with a copy to the Election Commission.

Q. 11. Can an official meet the minister on his private visit to the Constituency where elections are being held?
Ans. No, Any official who meets the Minister on his private visit to the constituency shall be guilty of misconduct under the relevant service rules; and if he happens to be an official mentioned in Section 129 (1) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, he shall also be additionally considered to have violated the statutory provisions of that Section and liable to penal action
provided thereunder.

Q. 12. Whether Ministers are entitled for official vehicle during the election?
Ans. Ministers are entitled to use their official vehicles only for commuting from their official residence to their office for official work provided that such commuting is not combined with any electioneering or any political activity.

Q. 13. Whether Ministers or any other political functionaries can use pilot car with beacon lights affixed with siren?
Ans. Minister or any other political functionary is not allowed during election period, to use pilot car or car with beacon lights of any colour or car affixed with sirens of any kind whether on private or official visit, even if the State administration has granted him a security cover requiring presence of armed guards to accompany him on such visit. This prohibition is applicable whether the vehicle is government owned or private owned.

Q. 14. Suppose there is a visit of President / Vice President at any place in the State. Is a Minister allowed to use VIP Car with other protocol?
Ans. Yes, The Minister may leave with VIP car and other protocol from his headquarters to the place of visit of President/ Vice President and return to his headquarters without attending any other function/meeting with any other political functionary. This restriction shall be applicable from the time he leaves the Headquarters and till he reaches back the headquarters.

Q. 15. Suppose a vehicle has been provided to Minister by the State and the Minister is given an allowance for maintenance of such vehicle. Can it be used by the Minister for election purposes?
Ans. Where a vehicle is provided by the State or the Minister is given an allowance for maintenance of the vehicle, he cannot use such vehicle for election.

Q. 16. Whether facility of official vehicles can be withdrawn from those ministers who violate the provisions of Model Code of conduct?
Ans. Yes, The Chief Electoral Officer shall also recover the cost of propulsion from the ministers who may misuse their official position.

Q. 17. Whether there is any restriction or visits of members of National Commission for Schedule Castes or any other similar National/State Commissions?
Ans. It is advised that all official visits of Members of such Commissions shall be deferred, unless any such visit becomes unavoidable in an emergent situation, till the completion of election exercise to avoid any misunderstanding that may arise in any quarters.

Q. 18. Whether members of Finance Commission of Govt. of India can visit State(s)?
Ans. Yes, Provided neither the press briefings nor press notes would be issued, highlighting the achievements of the State or otherwise.

Q. 19. Whether Chief Minister and other Ministers can attend New Year Day function (of the State), which is a State function?
Ans. No, Only Chief Secretary and other officials may participate and no political person including Chief Minister or Minister may participate in such function where Govt. funds are used.

Q. 20. Whether a Chief Minister/Minister/Speaker can attend a “State Day” function of a State?
Ans. There is no objection provided that he does not make any political speech on the occasion and the function is to be conducted only by Govt. officials. No advertisement depicting the photograph of Chief Minister/Minister/Speaker shall be released.

Q. 21. Whether Governor/Chief Minister/Ministers can participate and address the Convocation function of University or Institute?
Ans. Governor may participate and address the Convocation. Chief Minister or Ministers may be advised not to participate and address the Convocation.

Q. 22. Whether “Iftar Party” or any other similar party can be hosted at the residence of political functionaries, the expenses of which will be borne by State exchequer?
Ans. No, However any individual is free by to host any such party in his personal capacity and at his personal expense.

Q. 23. Is there any restriction on address of Governor in the Assembly Session (budget)?
Ans. No, on welfare schemes, government works etc.

Q. 24. Is there any restriction on issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power?
Ans. Yes, The advertisement regarding achievements of the party at the cost of public exchequer in the print and electronic media and the misuse of official mass media during the period of election is prohibited.

Q. 25. Whether hoardings/advertisements etc. depicting the achievements of the party(s) in power at Centre/State Governments at the cost of public exchequer can be continued?
Ans. No, All such hoardings, advertisements etc. on display shall be removed forthwith by the concerned authorities. Further, no advertisements should be issued in the newspapers and other media including electronic media at the cost of public exchequer.

Q. 26. Whether a Minister or any other authority can sanction grants/ payments out of discretionary funds?
Ans. No, Ministers and other authorities shall not sanction grants/payments out of discretionary funds from the time elections are announced.

Q. 27. Whether money can be withdrawn from treasury against the sanctioned amount from the discretionary funds of Ministers to prepare draft in the names of beneficiaries which may be disbursed after process of election is completed?
Ans. The funds may either be kept in “Personal Ledger Account” of the concerned Department or the release may be deferred till the completion of elections.

Q. 28. Suppose work order has been issued in respect of a scheme or a programme. Can it be started after announcement of election programme?
Ans. Work shall not be started in respect of which work order has been issued before announcement of election but the work has actually not started in the field. If a work has actually started in the field that can be continued.

Q. 29. Whether fresh release of funds under MPs/MLAs/MLCs Local Area Development Fund of any scheme can be made?
Ans. No, Fresh release of funds under MPs/MLAs/MLCs Local Area Development Fund of any scheme shall not be made in any area where election is in progress, till the completion of the election process.

Q. 30. There are various rural development programmes/ schemes of Central government like Indira Awas Yojana, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana, Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, National Food for Work programme, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Are there any guidelines for implementation of these schemes/programmes?
Ans. Yes, Following guidelines shall be followed in respect of each scheme/programme as enumerated below:-
(a) Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
Beneficiaries, who have been sanctioned housing scheme under IAY and have started work, will be assisted as per norms. No new constructions will be taken up or fresh beneficiaries sanctioned assistance till the elections are over.
(b) ) Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
Continuing works in progress may be continued and funds earmarked for such works can be released. In case of any Panchayat where all ongoing works have been completed and there is a requirement for taking up new wage employment
works and where funds released directly to the Panchayats from the Ministry of Rural Development are available, new works can be started from approved annual action plan for the current year with the prior consent of the District Election Officer. From other funds, no new works shall be started.
(c ) Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
Only those help groups which have received part of their subsidy/grant will be provided the balance installments. No fresh individual beneficiaries or SHGs will be given financial assistance till the elections are over.
(d ) National Food for Work Programme(NFWP)
There is no objection for continuance of old works and sanction of new works in those districts where no elections have been announced. In those districts where elections have been announced and are in progress, only those works may be undertaken that have already started physically on ground, provided outstanding advance given for implementation of such works at a given time shall not exceed the amount equivalent to work for 45 days.

(e) National Employment Rural Guarantee Act (NERGA)
The Ministry of Rural Development shall not increase the number of districts in which it is being implemented after announcement of elections. The job card holders will be provided employment in the ongoing work, if they demand work, after announcement of elections. In case no employment can be provided in ongoing works, the competent authority may start new work(s) from the shelf of projects that has been approved and inform the fact to concerned District Election Officer (DEO). No new work shall be started by the competent authority till such time employment can be given in ongoing works. In case no shelf of project is available or all works available on shelf have been exhausted, then the concerned competent authority shall make a reference to the Commission for approval through the concerned DEO. The competent authority shall also furnish a certificate to DEO to the effect that the new work has been sanctioned as no employment can be given to the job card holder in the ongoing work.

Q. 31. Whether a Minister or any other authority can announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof or lay foundation stones etc. of projects or schemes of any kinds etc.?
Ans. No, Ministers and other authorities shall not announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof; or (except civil servants) lay foundation stones etc. of projects or schemes of any kind; or make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities etc. or make any ad-hoc appointments in Government, Public Undertakings etc. In such case, senior Govt. Officer may lay foundation stone etc. without involving any political functionary.

Q. 32. A budget provision has been made for a particular scheme or the scheme has been sanctioned earlier. Can such scheme be announced or inaugurated?
Ans. No, Inauguration/announcement of such scheme is prohibited during election period.
Q. 33. Whether ongoing beneficiary scheme can be continued?
Ans. No, The processing of beneficiary oriented scheme, even if ongoing, shall be suspended during election period. Further, no fresh release of funds on welfare schemes and works should be made.

Q. 34. Suppose work order has already been issued for a scheme. Can work be started in respect of such scheme?
Ans. No, work shall be started in respect of which even if work orders have already been issued, if the work has actually not started in the field. Work can start only after the completion of election process. However, if a work has actually started, that can be continued.

Q. 35. Is there any bar to release of payments for completed work?
Ans. There shall be no bar to the release of payments for completed work subject to the full satisfaction of the concerned officials.

Q. 36. How the Govt. may meet the emergency situation or unforeseen calamities, when there are restrictions for announcing welfare measures?
Ans. For tackling emergencies or unforeseen calamities like providing relief to people suffering from drought, floods, pestilences, other natural calamities or welfare measures for the aged, infirm etc., Govt. may do so after obtaining prior approval of the Commission and all ostentatious functions shall be strictly avoided and no impression shall be given or allowed to be created that such welfare measures or relief and rehabilitation works are being undertaken by the Government in office with any ulterior motive.

Q. 37. Whether financial institutions funded, partially or wholly by the Governments can write off loans advanced to any individual, company, firm, etc.?
Ans. No, The financial institutions funded, partially or wholly by the Governments shall not take recourse to writing off loans advanced to any individual, company, firm, etc. Also, financial limits of such institutions, while granting or extending loans, should not be enhanced by issuing of loans indiscriminately to beneficiaries.

Q. 38. Whether tenders, auctions etc. relating to matters such as liquor vends, Tendu leaves and other such cases can be processed?
Ans. No, Processing of such cases should be deferred till the completion of election process in the concerned areas and the Govt. may make interim arrangements where unavoidably necessary.

Q. Suppose contract for Toll Tax is expiring at the end of
financial year (31st March of the year), for which auction date
has already been proposed/advertised. Whether auction
can be held for awarding the contract?
Ans.
39.
Yes
Provided the contract is supervised by the
Commissioner/Divisional Commissioner or some other senior
District Officer directly answerable to the
Commissioner/Divisional Commissioner and there is no change
in the earlier policy or auction procedure.
Q. Whether meeting of Municipal Corporation, Nagar
Panchayat, Town Area Committee, etc. can be convened to
review the revenue collection and preparing draft anuual
budget etc?
Ans.
40.
Yes
Provided that at such meetings only the matters of routine nature
relating to day-to-day administration may be taken up and not the
matters relating to its policies and programmes.
Q. Whether function regarding “Stop TB” programme can be
held which may be inaugurated by a political functionary and
whether an advertisement on “World TB Day” can be
released and published?
Ans.
41.
There is no objection provided –
i. during the inauguration
ceremony, no political
speeches are made,
ii. no advertisement with
photographs of PM and / or
any Minister is issued, and
iii. advertisements and
speeches are confined to
the subject of combating
and eradication of TB only.
- 17 -
Q. Whether political functionaries can participate in the
celebration of “Sadbhavna Diwas” which is celebrated
through out the country?
Ans.
42.
The Central Ministers / Chief Minister / Ministers in the States
and other political functionaries can participate in the celebration
of “Sadbhavna Diwas” subject to condition that the “theme” of
their speeches should be confined only to the promotion of
harmony among the people’ and no political speech should be
made. Messages, if any, issued in the name of Minister should
be confined to the theme of national integration only and should
carry no photograph of the concerned Minister.
Q. Whether State-level functions can be held for observance of
Martyrdom of Martyrs which may be presided/attended to by
Chief Minister / Minister?
Ans.
43.
Yes
Provided that the speeches of the Chief Minister and other
Ministers should restrict to the Martyrdom of the Martyrs and
praising them. No political speech or speech enumerating or
referring to the achievements of the Government or party in
power should be made.
Q. Whether birthday celebration of Shri Babu Jagjivan Ram and
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which falls on 5th April and 14th April
respectively as a State function may be conducted?
Ans.
44.
Yes
Provided it is not used as an occasion for political campaign or
highlighting public achievements of the Govt. and also there is no
ostentation and no political functionary addresses such meetings.
The above restriction shall be equally applicable in all such other
functions.
Q. Whether Kavi Sammelan, Mushiaras or other cultural
functions can be organized in connection with the
Independence Day/Republic Day celebration and whether
political functionaries can attend the same?
Ans.
45.
Yes
The Central Ministers / Chief Minister / Ministers in the States
and other political functionaries can attend the programme.
However, it will be ensured that no political speeches highlighting
the achievements of the party in power are made on the
occasions.
- 18 -
Q. Whether films can be telecast on the occasions of birth and
death anniversaries / ceremony anniversaries of prominent
leaders in which VVIPs/VIPs may likely to feature?
Ans.
46.
May not be telecast, in case the coverage involves VVIPs/VIPs.
Q. Whether media campaign can be made for effective
implementation of statutory warnings, etc. on sale of
cigarettes and other tobacco products?
Ans.
47.
Yes
Provided that photos/messages of political personalities etc. shall
not be associated with the campaign.
Q. Whether political advertisements can be printed on back
side of the bus-ticket of Govt. owned buses?
Ans.
48.
No
Q. Whether Govt. can release convicted criminals on parole
after following due procedures?
Ans.
49.
If the Govt. feels that the release of any convict on parole is
absolutely essential for certain compelling reasons, in that case
Govt. shall consult the Chief Electoral Officer before granting
parole.
Q. Whether minimum support price of wheat and other
agricultural products can be determined?
Ans.
50.
A reference in the matter shall be made to the Election
Commission.
- 19 -
Q 51. Whether the Government can proceed and act upon the
following indicative illustrative list of items, which is not
exhaustive, without obtaining clearance/approval from the
Election Commission?
(i) Extension of term of an official for
further period except officials related
to conduct of elections,
(ii) Enhancement of minimum penalty in
case of ticket less travel,
(iii) Sanctioning of grants to consumer
co-ordination council from consumer
welfare fund to organize a
conference on world consumer
rights day,
(iv) Issuing advertisement regarding
pulse polio immunization
programme,
(v) Seeking financial assistance from
National Calamity Contingency Fund
for drought relief measure-deputing
of Inter-Ministerial team of officers to
visit concerned State,
(vi) Request of the State Govt. for
transportation of water and fodder
by Rail in areas declared drought
affected,
(vii) Promotion of officials by convening
DPC and filling regular posts falling
due to retirement, deputation, etc.,
(viii) Appointment of persons on
compassionate grounds in
pursuance of Court’s orders,
(ix) Celebration of “May-Day”,
(x) Providing additional charge of office
of one officer to another one,
- 20 -
(xi) To call and finalize tenders of
routine, repair maintenance,
strengthening and upgradation
public utilities being run by the
local authorities,
(xii) Replacement/repair or damaged
water supply distribution pipes,
(xiii) To issue work order of construction
of public facilities and public toilets
on BOT basis in pursuance of
Court’s directions,
(xiv) To conduct the election of college
students union,
(xv) Clearance of unauthorized
structure/land as per orders of
Court,
(xvi) Release of advertisement for
activities relating to control of
HIV/AIDS,
(xvii) Release of advertisement to create
awareness about important
provisions of labour laws,
(xviii) Purchase of uniform clothes and
equipments for Police and awarding
of Tender thereof,
(xix) Commencement of desilting of
drain/cattle ponds
(xx) Grant of financial upgradation
under assured career progression
scheme to employees,
(xxi) Calling of tenders for work to
control mosquitoes
(xxii) Transfer/posting of doctors,
(xxiii) To shift criminals from one jail to
other jail in pursuance of Court’s
orders,
(xxiv) To form Committee for stock of
chemical fertilizer for Kharif and
Rabi crops ,
(xxv) To purchase medicine and
equipments for hospitals for which
grants have already been
sanctioned and tenders for which
were already called for.
(xxvi) Recruitment rally to enroll youth
into the Army,
- 21 -
Ans. Yes
Provided that no impression is given or created that the same
has been done with a view to influencing the electorate in favour
of ruling party. Further, in the case of advertisements, photo of
Minister/political functionary should not be contained therein.
- 22 -
Q. 52. Whether the Government can proceed and act upon the
following indicative illustrative list of items, which is not
exhaustive, without obtaining clearance from the
Commission?
(i) Issuing sanction orders to out of
turn PCO/Telephone connections
and to nominate members to
various Telephone Advisory
Committees which were ordered by
the minister before the elections.
(ii) Issue of appointment order to a
person as a part time non-official
Director on the board of PSU after
Cabinet’s approval.
(iii) Fixing of tariff for Major Port Trusts
by Tariff Authority for major ports.
(iv) Sanctioning of grants From
Consumer Welfare fund to eligible
voluntary consumer organizations
as per guidelines.
(v) Implementation of SEZ rules and
regulations
(vi) Publication of a booklet titled “Year
of Achievement of the Department”
highlighting the salient
achievement of the Department,
(vii) Anganwadi Karyakartri Bima
Yojana, an insurance scheme
under the LIC’s social security
group scheme for anganwadi
workers and helpers,
(viii) Appointment of Central Govt.
nominees to the General Council
as well as Executive Committee of
National Council for Teachers
Education,
(ix) Recruitment drive only for wards of
serving/retired service personnel
as a welfare measures for troops.
(x) Issue of advertisements in
newspapers and video & audio
spots on generic advertisement of
processed food,
(xi) Issue of Notification for setting up
a new Promotion Council for
pharmaceutical sector,
(xii) Appointment of a person as a Sr.
Consultant from a Private
Company as Head of the internal
system group to review the
ongoing projects and Egovernance
initiations with the
f
- 23 -
Ans. No
The processing of aforesaid items may be deferred till the
completion of elections.
Q. Whether State Govt. can seek clarification/
clearance/approval in respect of any proposal directly from
the Election Commission?
Ans.
53.
No
Any proposal from State Govt. for seeking
clarification/clearance/approval from the Election Commission
should only be routed through Chief Electoral Officer, who will
make his recommendation or otherwise in the matter.
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Q. What are the main guidelines for political parties/candidates
while making election campaign?
Ans.
54.
During the election campaign, no party or candidate shall indulge
in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create
mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and
communities, religious or linguistic. Further, criticism of other
political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies
and programme, past record and work. Parties and candidates
shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not
connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of
other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on
unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.
Q. Are their any restrictions in using religious places for
election propaganda?
Ans.
55.
Yes
Religious places like Temple, Mosque, Church, Gurudwara or
other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election
propaganda. Further, there shall be no appeal to caste or
communal feelings for securing votes.
Q. Can a candidate go to the office of Returning Officer for
filing a nomination with a procession?
Ans.
56.
No
The maximum number of vehicles that will be allowed to come
within the periphery of 100 mtrs. of Returning Officer’s office has
been restricted to 3 and maximum number of persons that will be
allowed to enter the office of Returning Officer has been limited to
5 (including the candidate).
- 24 -
Q. How many persons are allowed at the time of scrutiny of
nominations by the Returning Officer?
Ans.
57.
The candidate, his election agent, one Proposer and one other
person (who can be an advocate) duly authorized in writing by
the candidate, but no other person, may attend at the time fixed
for scrutiny of nominations by Returning Officer.
(Refer: Sec. 36 (1) of Representation of People Act, 1951)
Q. Are there any guidelines regarding use of vehicles by
ministers/political functionaries/candidates, who have
been provided security cover by the State?
Ans.
58.
Yes
In respect of persons covered by security, the use of State
owned one bullet proof vehicle for the particular person (PP)
will be permitted in all cases where the security agencies,
including the intelligence authorities, have prescribed such use.
The use of multiple cars in the name of stand-by should not be
permitted unless so specifically prescribed by security
authorities. The cost of propulsion of such bullet proof
vehicles where such use of bullet proof vehicles is specified will
be borne by the particular person. The number of vehicles to
accompany the carcade including pilots, escorts etc. will be
strictly in accordance with the instructions laid down by the
security authorities and shall not exceed them under any
circumstances. The cost of propulsion of all such vehicles,
whether owned by Government or hired vehicles, will be met
by the State Government.
The restrictions do not apply to the Prime Minister
whose security requirements are governed by the
Government’s Blue Book.
Q. Whether there is any restriction for plying of vehicles for
electioneering purposes?
Ans.
59.
Candidate can ply any number of vehicles (all
mechanized/motorized vehicles including two- wheelers) for the
purpose of election campaign but he has to seek prior approval
of the Returning Officer for plying such vehicles and must
display permit issued by Returning Officer in original (not
photocopy) prominently on the windscreen of the Vehicle. The
permit must bear the number of the vehicle and name of the
candidate in whose favour it is issued.
- 25 -
Q. Whether a vehicle for which permission has been taken for
election campaign in the name of a candidate, can be used
for election campaign by another candidate?
Ans.
60.
No
Use of such vehicle for election campaign by another candidate
shall invite action under section 171H of Indian Penal Code.
Q. Can a vehicle be used for electioneering purposes without
getting permit from the District Election Officer/Returning
Officer?
Ans.
61.
No
Such vehicle shall be deemed to be unauthorized for
campaigning by the candidate and may attract penal provisions
of Chapter IX A of the Indian Penal Code and shall therefore be
immediately out of the campaigning exercise and shall not be
used for further campaign.
Q. Whether there is any restriction on use of educational
institutions including their grounds (whether Govt. aided,
Private or Govt.) for political campaigns and rallies?
Ans.
62.
Use of educational institutions including their grounds (whether
Govt. aided, Private or Govt.) for political campaigns and rallies
is not allowed.
Q Is external fitting/modification allowed in the vehicles used
for campaigning?
Ans.
63.
External modification of vehicles including fitting of loudspeaker
thereon, would be subject to the provisions of the Motor
Vehicles Act/Rules as well as other Local Act/Rules. Vehicles
with modifications and special campaign vehicles like Video
Rath etc. can be used only after obtaining the requisite
permission from the competent authorities under the Motor
Vehicles Act.
Q. 64. Is there any restriction or use of rest houses, dak bungalows
or other Govt. accommodation for campaign office or for
holding any public meeting for the purpose of election
propaganda?
- 26 -
Ans. Yes
Rest houses, dak bungalows or other Govt. accommodation shall
not be monopolized by the party in power or its candidates and
such accommodation shall be allowed to use by other parties and
candidates but no party or candidate shall be allowed to use as
campaign office.
Further, it shall be ensured that –
(i) no functionary can use the Circuit House, Dak bungalow
to set up campaign office as the Circuit Houses/Dak
bungalows are only for temporary stay (boarding and
lodging) during transit of such functionaries,
(ii) even casual meeting by Members of political parties
inside the premises of the Government owned
guesthouse etc. are not permitted and any violation of
this shall be deemed to be a violation of the Model Code
of Conduct,
(iii) only the vehicle carrying the person allotted
accommodation in the guest house and not more than
two other vehicles, if used by the person, will be
permitted inside the compound of the Guest House,
(iv) rooms should not be made available for more than 48
hours to any single individual, and
(v) 48 hours before the close of poll in any particular area,
there will be freeze on such allocations till completion of
poll or re-poll.
- 27 -
Q. Are there any conditions for getting Govt aircraft/helicopters
(including Public Sector Undertakings) by political
parties/candidates?
Ans.
65.
Yes
While allowing the chartering of Govt. aircrafts/helicopters to
political parties/candidates or private companies etc., the
following conditions should be followed:-
i There should be no discrimination between the ruling party
on the one hand and the other parties and contesting candidates
on the other.
ii The payment will be made by the political parties or the
contesting candidates and proper record maintained.
iii The rates and terms and conditions should be uniform for
all.
iv The actual allotment should be made on the first-come
first-served basis. For this purpose, the date and time of receipt of
the application should be noted down by the authorized receiving
authority.
v In the rare case when both the date and time of two or
more applicants is the same, the allotment will be decided by
draw of lots.
vi No individual, firm, party or candidate will be allowed to
charter the aircraft/helicopter for more than three days at a time.
Q. Is there any restriction on displaying poster, placard,
banner, flag etc of the party concerned or the candidate on a
public property?
Ans.
66.
Candidate may display poster, placard, banner, flag etc of the
party concerned or the candidate on a public property subject to
provisions of local law and prohibitory orders in force. For details,
refer Commission’s instructions No.3/7/2008/JS-II,dated
7.10.2008.
Q. If local law/bye-laws permit wall writings and pasting of
posters, putting up hoardings, banners etc. on private
premises/properties, is it necessary to obtain prior written
permission from the owner of the premises/properties?
Ans.
67.
Yes
Candidate is required to obtain prior written permission from the
owner of the properties/premises and photocopy(ies) of such
permission should be submitted within 3 days to the Returning
Officer or an officer designated by him for the purpose.
- 28 -
Q. Is there any restriction on displaying/carrying poster/
placard/ banner/flag of the party concerned or of the
candidate on the vehicle during the procession?
Ans.
68.
Candidate may display /carry one poster/placard/banner/flag of
Candidate’s party/or his own on vehicle during the procession
subject to conformity with the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act
and any other local laws/bye-laws.
Q. Whether there is any ban on use of plastic sheets for
making use of posters/banners during the election
campaign?
Ans.
69.
The political parties and candidates should try to avoid the use
of plastic/polythene for preparation of posters, banners etc. in
the interest of environmental protection.
Q. Is there any restriction on the printing of pamphlets,
posters etc?
Ans.
70.
Yes
Candidate shall not print or publish, or cause to be printed or
published any election pamphlet or poster which does not bear
on its face names and addresses of the printer and the
publisher thereof.
(Refer : Section 127A of Representation of 1951)
Q. Whether there is any restriction on air dropping of
leaflets/pamphlets by the Political parties/candidates?
Ans.
71.
No
Provided that all the expenses in this regard have been booked
against the election expenses of the candidate, on whose
behalf the leaflets/pamphlets are being dropped.
Q. Is wearing of special accessories like cap, mask, scarf etc.
of a candidate permitted during the campaigning?
Ans.
72.
Yes, provided they are accounted for in the election expenses
of the candidate concerned. However supply and distribution of
main apparels like saree, shirt, etc. by party/candidate is not
permitted as it may amount to bribery of voters.
Q.
Whether dummy ballot units of EVM can be prepared by
the candidate for the purpose of educating the voters?
Ans.
73.
Yes
The dummy ballot units may be made of wooden, plastic or ply
board boxes, half the size of the official ballot units and may be
painted brown, yellow or grey.
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Q. Whether there is restriction to display to the public any
election matter by means of cinematograph, television or
other similar apparatus?
Ans.
74.
Yes
Candidate can not display to the public any election matter by
means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus
during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the
conclusion of poll.
(Refer: Sec. 126 of Representation of People Act, 1951)
Q. Whether a candidate can print and distribute the
diary/calendar/sticker depicting his image or image of
Gods/ deities etc.
Ans.
75.
No
This will amount to bribery under section 171E of Indian Penal
Code.
Q. Whether distribution of printed “Stepney Covers” or other
similar material containing symbol of party/candidate or
without depicting it, is a violation?
Ans.
76.
Yes
In case, it is established that such material have been
distributed, a complaint may be filed before the area Magistrate
by District Administration against the distribution of the said
material under section 171 B of the IPC.
Q. Are there conditions/guidelines for setting up and operating
of Temporary Offices by Party or candidate?
Ans.
77.
Yes
Such offices can not be opened by way of any encroachment
either on public or private property/ in any religious places or
campus of such religious places/ contiguous to any educational
institution / hospital / within 200 meters of an existing polling
station. Further, such offices can display only one party flag and
banner with party symbol/photographs and the size of the banner
used in such offices should not exceed ‘4 feet X 8 feet’ subject to
the further condition that if the local laws prescribe a lower size
for banner / hoarding etc., then the lower size prescribed by local
law shall prevail.
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Q. Is there any restriction on the presence of political
functionaries in a constituency after campaign period is
over?
Ans.
78.
Yes
After the closure of campaign period (starting from 48 Hrs. before
closure of poll), political functionaries etc. who have come from
outside the constituency and who are not voters of the
constituency should not continue to remain present in the
constituency. Such functionaries should leave the constituency
immediately after campaign period is over. This will not apply in
the case of candidate or his election agent even if they are not
voters in the constituency.
Q. Is such restriction applicable in the case of office bearer of a
political party who is in-charge of election in the State?
Ans.
79.
Yes
However, such restriction is not insisted upon during the general
elections to Lok Sabha/State Assembly only in respect of the
office bearer who is in-charge of the State during the election
period. Such office bearer shall declare his place of stay in the
State Headquarters and his movement during the period in
question shall remain confined normally between his party office
and place of his stay. The above restrictions will be
applicable to all other functionaries in all elections.
Q. Whether there is any restriction for holding public meeting
or taking out processions?
Ans.
80.
Yes.
Prior written permission should be obtained from the concerned
police authorities for holding of a meeting at any public or private
place and for taking out processions.
Q. Whether loudspeakers can be used for public meetings or
for processions or for general propaganda without obtaining
permission from Police authorities?
Ans.
81.
No.
Prior written permission should be obtained from the concerned
police authorities for using loudspeakers.
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Q. Whether there is any time limit for using loudspeakers?
Ans.
82.
Yes.
Loudspeaker can not be used at night between 10.00 P.M. and
6.00 A.M.
Q. What is the deadline after which no public meetings and
processions can be taken out?
Ans. Public meetings cannot be held after 10 PM and before 6.00 AM.
Further, Candidate can not hold public meetings and processions
during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the
conclusion of poll. Suppose, poll day is 15th July and hours of
poll are from 8.00A.M to 5.00 P.M., then the public meetings and
processions shall be closed at 5.00 P.M on the 13th July.
(Refer: Sec. 126 of Representation of People Act, 1951)
83.
Q. Whether there are any guidelines for political
parties/candidates for issue of unofficial identity slips to
voters?
Ans.
84.
Yes.
The unofficial identity slip, on white paper, shall contain only the
particulars of the voter i.e. name, Serial number of voter, part No.
in the electoral roll, s.no. and name of Polling Station and date of
Poll. It should not contain the name of candidate, his photograph
and symbol.
Q. Is there any restriction on appointment of a
Minister/M.P./M.L.A/M.L.C or any other person who is under
security cover as an Election Agent/Polling Agent/Counting
Agent?
Ans.
85.
Yes
A candidate cannot appoint a Minister/M.P./ MLA/MLC or any
other person who is under security cover, as an election/polling
agent/counting agent, as his personal security shall be
jeopardized with such appointment, because his security
personnel will not under any circumstances be permitted to
accompany him into the 100 meter perimeter of polling stations
described as the “Polling Station Neighborhood” and within the
polling booth and campus of counting centre and within the
counting centre. Also any person having security cover will not be
allowed to surrender his security cover to act as such agent of a
candidate.
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Q. Is a candidate allowed to appoint persons as polling
agents from anywhere?
Ans.
86.
No
Such person who is appointed by the candidate as a polling
agent must be an ordinarily resident and elector of the
concerned polling station area only and not from outside the
concered polling area. Such person must also have Elector’s
Photo Identity Card.
However, in the case of polling stations exclusively manned by
the women polling personnel, the restriction of resident of same
polling area shall not be applied for.
Q. Who is the authority to issue permits to Star Campaigners
(Leaders) of the Political Parties who avail benefit under
Section 77(1) of R.P Act, 1951?
Ans.
87.
In case the mode of road transport is to be availed of by Star
Campaigners (Leaders) of political, the permit will be issued
centrally by the Chief Electoral Officer. If such party applies for
issue of permit for the same vehicle to be used by any leader
for election campaigning throughout the State, the same may
be issued for such vehicle centrally by the Chief Electoral
Officer, which will be prominently displayed on windscreen of
such vehicle(s) to be used by concerned leader(s). If different
vehicles are to be used by such party leaders in different
areas, then the permit can be issued against the name of the
person concerned who will display it prominently on the
windscreen of the vehicle being used by such leader.
Q. Whether Opinion poll or Exit poll can be conducted,
published, publicized or disseminated at any time?
Ans.
88.
No
The result of any opinion poll or exit poll conducted shall not be
published, publicized or disseminated in any manner by print,
electronic or any other media, at any time-
(a) during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for
closing of poll in an election held in a single phase; and
(b) in a multi-phased election, and in the case of elections in
difference States announced simultaneously, at any time during
the period starting from 48 hours before the hour fixed for closing
of poll in the first phase of the election and till the poll is
concluded in all the phases in all States.
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Q. Whether there is any restriction for transmitting Short
Messages Service (SMSs)?
Ans.
89.
Yes
Transmitting objectionable messages on SMSs during election is
prohibited. For objectionable SMSs which may violate the law
and ECI instructions issued in this behalf, the police authorities
shall advertise special mobile numbers on which the receiver of
such SMS can forward the said SMS with the mobile number of
sender. The police authorities shall take action under the law.
POLL DAY
Q. Are there any guidelines for setting up of election booth by
candidate/political parties near polling station on the day of
poll?
Ans.
90.
Election booth can be set up beyond a distance of 200 meters
from the polling stations, only with 1 table and 2 chairs with an
umbrella or a piece of tarpaulin or cloth to protect the two
occupants. Only one banner (3 x 41/2 feet) can be displayed
showing the name of the candidate/ party / election symbol at the
booth. However, two election booths can be set up, if more than
two polling stations have been set up in a building
Q. Is it necessary to obtain written permission of the concerned
Government authorities or local authorities for setting up of
election booth?
Ans.
91.
Yes
It is necessary to obtain the written permission of the
Government authorities concerned or local authorities before
setting up of such booths. Written permission must be available
with the persons manning the booth for production before the
police /election authorities concerned on demand.
Q. Is there any restriction of canvassing in or near polling
station?
Ans.
92.
Yes
Canvassing for votes etc. within a distance of one hundred
meters of polling station is prohibited on the day of poll.
(Refer : Section 130 of Representation of 1951)
- 34 -
Q. Whether the use of mobile phone is allowed in the polling
station?
Ans.
93.
No person is allowed to either carry or use mobile phones,
cordless phones, wireless sets etc. in 100 meter perimeter of the
polling stations described as the “polling station neighborhood”
and within the polling booth.
Only Observer/Micro Observer, Presiding Officer and security
personnel are allowed to carry mobile phone but they will keep
their mobile phones in silent mode.
Q. Is there any restriction of going armed to or near polling
station?
Ans.
94.
Yes
No person is allowed to go armed with arms as defined in Arms
Act 1959 of any kind within the neighborhood of a polling station
on the day of poll.
(Refer: Section 134B of Representation of 1951)
Q. How many vehicles a candidate is entitled for on the day of
poll?
Ans.
95.
(i) For an election to the House of the
People, a candidate will be entitled to:
(a) One vehicle for candidate’s own use
in respect of the entire constituency.
One vehicle for use of candidate’s
election agent for entire constituency.
(b) In addition, one vehicle for use of
candidate’s workers or party workers,
as the case may be, in each of the
assembly segments comprised in the
Parliamentary Constituency.
(ii) For an election to the State Legislaitve Assembly, a
candidate will be entitled to:
(a) One vehicle for candidate’s own use
(b) One vehicle for use of candidate’s election agent
(c) In addition, one vehicle for use of candidate’s workers or
party workers.
Q. If the candidate is absent from the constituency on the day
of poll, can the vehicle allotted in his name be used by any
other person?
96.
No
Vehicle allotted for candidate’s use is not allowed to be used by
any other person.
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Q. Can any type of entitled vehicle be used on the day of poll?
Ans.
97.
No
The candidate or his agent or party workers or workers will be
allowed to use only four/three/two wheeler vehicles i.e. cars (of
all types), taxis, auto rickshaws, rickshaws and two wheelers. In
these vehicles not more than five persons including drivers are
allowed to move on the day of poll.
Q. Whether Political Party/Candidate can make arrangements for transporting voter to and from Polling Station?
Ans.
98.
No.
Any arrangement, direct or indirect, to carry any voter to or from
polling station by any kind of vehicle used for transport is a
criminal offence.
(Refer: Sec. 133 of Representation of People Act, 1951)

Q. 99. Whether there are restrictions on plying of Govt./private vehicles on the poll day?
Ans. No, Public transport like buses, minibuses are allowed to ply but it should be ensured that they are not used clandestinely for the conveyance of voters. Further, private cars, taxies carrying passengers to places other than polling booths like hospitals, airports, railway stations, bus stands, friends and relations houses, clubs, and restaurants will be allowed on the road. But they should not be allowed to come clandestinely near the polling areas for the conveyance of voters.

Q. 100. Can a leader of Political party use private fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for the purposes of supervising and monitoring the polling and counting process on the day of poll and counting?
Ans. No, Leader of a political party is not allowed to use private fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for the purposes of supervising and monitoring the polling and counting process on the day of poll and counting.