Poll Body Notice To AAP For Breaching Model Code During Door-To-Door Campaigning

The Election Commission of India (ECI) Wednesday issued a notice to the AAP for allegedly violating the model code of conduct as its leaders and workers approached people in groups of more than five for door-to-door campaigning.

The poll panel issued the notice shortly after the Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal launched the door-to-door campaigning from the Kharar assembly segment.

Mr Kejriwal met residents, urging them to vote for his party on the February 14 state assembly polls.

In the notice, the Kharar returning officer said the model code was violated as the AAP volunteers approached people in groups of more than five.

Seeking the reply of the notice within 24 hours, the returning officer-cum-sub-divisional magistrate said the failure to reply to the notice within the stipulated time would trigger action by the poll panel.

The ECI on January 8 had banned public rallies, roadshows and corner meetings till January 15 in the five poll-bound states, citing the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, and issued stringent safety guidelines.

Punjab minister Raj Kumar Verka had also sought action against the AAP for the alleged MCC violation.

During his party's door-to-door campaigning, Kejriwal met people in the Kharar sub-division of Mohali and listened to their problems and apprised them of the party's plans for Punjab.

Accompanied by AAP's state unit chief Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal himself distributed pamphlets about his party's plans and promises to the people, urging them to vote for his party to "restore Punjab's peace and prosperity, and to establish harmony and brotherhood in the state."